Trade deadline winners and losers

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - With the Major League Baseball non-waiver trading deadline passed, the focus is back to which team will be able to capitalize on the last-minute deals as the stretch drive to the playoffs kicks into high gear.

There's no doubt that the landscape of the division races have changed somewhat with the Florida Marlins making several moves to bolster their pitching and offense and the Los Angeles Dodgers making a few questionable moves. However, the wild card races will be more interesting to watch now that Nomar Garciaparra has been traded to the Chicago Cubs, while Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz will bring a strong defensive presence to the Boston Red Sox. The Cubs and Red Sox both have little chance of winning their divisions, but they both improved heading into August baseball. While those two teams improved, there were some that chose not to spend at the deadline and that may be costly down the stretch as far as making the playoffs is concerned. There were over a dozen trades in the final two days leading to the July 31st deadline. Here's a breakdown of the winners and losers of contending teams from that period. WINNERS ATLANTA BRAVES - Pulling away in first place, there is little the Braves need at this point, other than to strengthen their bullpen and they did that by acquiring left-handed reliever Tom Martin and cash from the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Matt Merricks. Martin joins Sam McConnell as the only other lefty in the bullpen. Last season Martin pitched in career-best 80 games. Although his ERA is higher than last year, it was definitely a much- needed addition for Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone. BOSTON RED SOX - Nomar Garciaparra was going to become a free agent anyway at the end of this season and sending him to the Chicago Cubs in the four-team blockbuster with Minnesota and Montreal will likely prove to be a boost. Even though Garciaparra is a five-time All-Star and two-time AL batting champion, he has battled this year with an Achilles injury and that could linger for the remainder of the season. The Red Sox improve defensively as first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and shortstop Orlando Cabrera are both Gold Glove winners. Also, Cabrera has proven to be one of the most durable players in the last few years. He had played in every game for the Expos in four of the last five seasons, missing just nine games in 2002. Moving Mientkiewicz to first allows David Ortiz to be the full-time designated hitter and Kevin Millar can move to the outfield. Acquiring Dave Roberts brings speed to Boston's lineup, something the club has lacked this season as they are in the bottom third in the majors in steals. CHICAGO CUBS - Garciaparra is an upgrade over Alex Gonzalez at shortstop, but Garciaparra's health remains an issue. Also, Nomar's power numbers will get better, especially playing at Wrigley Field, a ball park he has never played in. The move gives the Cubs a much better chance at capturing the wild card. FLORIDA MARLINS - Nearly two weeks before the trading deadline manager Jack McKeon expressed his desire to obtain at least a player or two for the stretch drive. Trader Jack got more than he asked for as general manager Larry Beinfest pulled off probably the best deals, giving the reigning World Series champs an excellent opportunity to win every night. They traded starter Brad Penny to the Dodgers, but got another starter back by acquiring veteran righthander Ismael Valdez, who had a high ERA, but was at nine victories when he was dealt from the San Diego Padres. Valdez will take over as the No. 5 starter. They also rid themselves of disgruntled outfielder Abraham Nunez and obtained reliever Rudy Seanez from Kansas City. That's small potatoes compared to what they got from the Dodgers on Friday. Paul Lo Duca fills a need behind the plate for a catcher who can hit for average and he is also an excellent team leader. Outfielder Juan Encarnacion returns to play an important role as he helped the Marlins win it all last year. Hee Seop Choi wasn't lighting the world on fire at first base and because he was traded, look for Jeff Conine to move from left field to first. Another important move was to get righthander Guillermo Mota from the Dodgers. Mota can be a top set-up man, as he did for Eric Gagne in LA, and may even fill in as closer if Armando Benitez is sidelined for a long period. NEW YORK YANKEES - They couldn't put together a trade to lure Randy Johnson from Arizona to the Bronx, but they did improve their starting rotation by acquiring Esteban Loaiza from the Chicago White Sox for the inconsistent Jose Contreras. Amazingly, it was a last-second deal that went down one minute before the 4 p.m. (et) deadline. Loaiza, who started the All-Star Game last year and made the Mid-Summer Classic again in 2004, is definitely an upgrade. In turn the Yankees rid themselves of a guy who was signed to a $32 million, four-year contract after defecting from Cuba in October 2002. Contreras' ERA is approaching the 6.00 mark. LOSERS CHICAGO WHITE SOX - Why would the White Sox trade away a guy who had 21 wins and a 2.90 ERA last season for a pitcher who has $17.3 million left on his contract? The Yankees are only contributing $3 million toward that deal. The White Sox though can take comfort that the Twins didn't make a move to upgrade their pitching at the deadline. LOS ANGELES DODGERS - Not being able to get Randy Johnson from Arizona or Charles Johnson from Colorado is a huge blow to the Dodgers, who are definitely weaker with the trades they made on July 30 and 31. Losing Lo Duca is like a general leaving his army in the middle of battle. Without Mota available to set up Gagne, and Martin gone, the set-up job falls to Darren Dreifort, who up until this season has been decimated with injuries. Losing Encarnacion and Dave Roberts will hurt, at least as far as speed is concerned as Roberts had 33 steals. Steve Finley brings a strong presence defensively and offensively in center field from Arizona and Choi's arrival allows Shawn Green to move back to right field, where he would rather be. Penny has a good ERA (3.15), but still has eight losses. Brent Mayne is certainly not an everyday catcher and was actually backing up rookie Juan Brito for the Diamondbacks. NEW YORK METS - The only reason the Mets are in this category is because they traded away Scott Kazmir and Matt Peterson, the pitching jewels of their farm system, along with promising and versatile infielder Ty Wigginton, in order to get Victor Zambrano and Kris Benson. This trade may have looked better in mid- July when the Mets were within two games of first place in the NL East, but as of August 1 they are eight games behind the Braves. To make this trade work, Zambrano has to cut down on his strikeout-to-walk ratio (109-96) and Benson has to re-sign in the offseason. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - The little deals the Phillies did may not work in their favor and now they're strained at second base for next season since they didn't trade away Placido Polanco, who will become a free agent in the winter. Polanco is still a positive for this season though, but what does that do for playing time for Chase Utley? Getting Todd Jones from Cincinnati and Felix Rodriguez from San Francisco were good for their bullpen depth considering Billy Wagner and Ryan Madson are hurt. Trading Ricky Ledee away may come back to bite them since he was good off the bench, but just wasn't an everyday centerfielder, something the team needs. Now it looks as if Marlon Byrd will return to the lineup in center and that could be the weak link of the club down the stretch since they couldn't get Steve Finley.