Sizing up the winners, losers in swap frenzy

NEW YORK - A look at how teams fared in baseball's trading spree:

Winners

Yankees: GM Brian Cashman got most of his shopping done early,and has gotten immediate dividends. David Justice (.369, 6 HRs, 19RBI since the deal) has lengthened the lineup and taken pressure offthe struggling Tino Martinez; Denny Neagle (2-0, 2.25 ERA) hassolidified the rotation; Jose Vizcaino has provided insurance forthe defensively challenged Chuck Knoblauch; and all Glenallen Hilldid was homer in his first at-bat and hit a game-winning grand slamFriday. Atlanta: GM John Schuerholz filled two major holes: gettingAndy Ashby to shore up the rotation and B.J. Surhoff to take theplace of struggling Reggie Sanders in left field. It's no wonderthat the Braves are in the playoffs every year.

Arizona: Got the best pitcher available - Curt Schilling - toprovide an intimidating 1-2 punch in the rotation with Randy Johnsonwithout giving up much from the Major League roster.

White Sox: Best team in AL made one of the best moves of thetrading season, upgrading catcher's spot with Charles Johnson andadding Harold Baines. Johnson should help young pitching staff andbe a huge improvement with the bat over Brook Fordyce-Mark Johnsonplatoon.

Mets: Snubbed by Barry Larkin and turned down by Philadelphia forSchilling, GM Steve Phillips settled for SS Mike Bordick, OF BubbaTrammell and RHP Rick White without giving up any of the team's mostcoveted prospects.

Oakland: Missed out on a blockbuster deal for John Wetteland andDavid Segui. Jim Mecir isn't as big a name as Wetteland, but he hasbeen one of baseball's best setup men the past three seasons (14-5with a 3.03 ERA since 1998). He will take some strain off Jeff Tamand help bridge the gap between starters and All-Star closer JasonIsringhausen.

Treading water

Cleveland: One of the busiest teams the past month, GM John Hartessentially exchanged David Justice, Richie Sexson, Enrique Wilsonand Alex Ramirez for Bob Wickman, David Segui, Wil Cordero, SteveWoodard and Jason Bere. Could be some short-term benefit -especially with Wickman - but if Cleveland doesn't make theplayoffs, Hart could have regrets if Sexson develops into anotherSean Casey, Brian Giles or Jeromy Burnitz. Also, not unloading MannyRamirez could be a risk if he bolts for free agency after theseason.

Baltimore: Completely overhauled its roster, shipping out MikeBordick, B.J. Surhoff, Charles Johnson, Harold Baines, Will Clarkand Mike Timlin in an effort to get younger and faster. Whether itworks, remains to be seen.

Seattle: Wanted Juan Gonzalez. Settled for Al Martin.

Los Angeles: The Dodgers wanted little to do with Ismael Valdesin the offseason, yet now they hope he can provide a pennant-runboost. Tom Goodwin was hitting only .208 away from Coors Field.

San Francisco: Giants only got reliever Doug Henry, but stillhave a team able to contend with Arizona in NL West.

Cubs: Andy MacPhail hasn't been shy since taking over as GM,making four trades this month. None have been blockbusters and onceagain it's "Wait till next year" for Cubbies fans.

Losers

St. Louis: Jason Christiansen and Mike Timlin help the bullpen,but Cardinals could have used Schilling. Acquisition of Will Clarkcould signal that Mark McGwire won't be back soon.

Cincinnati: At the time, the Neagle trade looked like a winnerfor the Reds. Drew Henson, Jackson Melian and Ed Yarnall were a lotto get for a potential free agent. But the Reds have gone from eightgames back at the time of the trade to four at the deadline andcould use Neagle now.

Philadelphia: Kent Bottenfield would be a good third starter toslot in behind Schilling and Andy Ashby. But the Phillies tradedtheir top two starters before getting Bottenfield from Anaheim. LHPBruce Chen was a nice pickup for Ashby, but the four-player packageGM Ed Wade took from Arizona for Schilling was not as good as St.Louis' offer of RHP Matt Morris and OF J.D. Drew.

Toronto: Added Esteban Loaiza, Steve Trachsel and Mark Guthrie tothe third-worst pitching staff in the AL. But the Yankees did moreand the Blue Jays were four games out of first place and fifth inthe wild-card race at the deadline.

Boston: Rolando Arrojo is a valuable addition to the pitchingstaff, but Mike Lansing wasn't enough to bolster an offense that was11th in the league in runs. Might still be able to add Rico Brognain a waiver deal.

Anaheim: Getting Ron Gant for Bottenfield was fine. Getting Gantand Adam Kennedy for Jim Edmonds wasn't.