Pitchers Hot Trade Property Saberhagen, Wells, Stanton Among Five Veterans Acquired

The final hour before baseball’s trading deadline produced five deals, all involving pitchers.

Late Monday night, the Colorado Rockies obtained Bret Saberhagen from the New York Mets; the Cincinnati Reds got David Wells from the Detroit Tigers; the Los Angeles Dodgers obtained Kevin Tapani from the Minnesota Twins; the Boston Red Sox traded for Mike Stanton of the Atlanta Braves; and Seattle got Andy Benes from San Diego.

The late flurry capped a wild week in which the New York Yankees got pitcher David Cone from the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles acquired some power by getting Bobby Bonilla from the Mets. Two first-place A.L. teams, California and Cleveland, also picked up starters, the Angels getting Jim Abbott from the Chicago White Sox and the Indians getting Ken Hill from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Trades can still be made, but the players involved now must clear waivers.

The Rockies, who have a 3-1/2-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the N.L. West, gave up minor league pitchers Juan Acevedo and Arnold Gooch to get Saberhagen, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, who was 5-5 with a 3.35 ERA this season, his fourth with the Mets.

Colorado, which will also receive a minor leaguer to be named from the Mets, also obtained left-hander Bryan Hickerson from the Chicago Cubs for future considerations.

The Rockies, leading the N.L. West, have two starters on the disabled list - David Nied and Joe Grahe - and Bill Swift is bothered by a sore shoulder.

The Rockies led the N.L. with a .282 batting average going into Monday’s game, but were second-to-last with a 4.75 ERA.

The Reds, the leaders in the N.L. Central by four games over Houston, got Wells in return for minor league pitchers C.J. Nitkowski and Dave Tuttle, and a player to be named later.

Wells, 32, has a 73-56 record in eight major league seasons. He was 10-3 with the Tigers this season, with a 3.04 ERA. He was 8-0 over his past nine starts.

“When you get to this point in July and you have a chance to improve your team you have to go out and do it, even if it means giving up a top prospect,” Reds general manager Jim Bowden said.

The Dodgers, in second place in the N.L. West, 3-1/2 games behind the Colorado Rockies, also acquired Mark Guthrie from the Twins in exchange for three minor leaguers.

The deal, which was completed 45 minutes before the trading deadline, included pitchers Jose Parra and Greg Hansell, and infielder Ron Coomer.

Tapani, a right-handed starter, was 6-11 with a 4.92 ERA for the Twins, while Guthrie, a left-handed reliever, was 5-3 with a team-leading 4.46 ERA.

The Red Sox, leaders in the A.L. East by 4-1/2 games over the Yankees, had been rumored to be the team that was going to get Saberhagen, but they settled instead for Stanton, a 28-year-old left-hander, who will step into the setup role for recently acquired closer Rick Aguilera.

The Red Sox will give up a player to be named for Stanton, who was 1-1 with one save and a 5.59 ERA in 26 appearances this year. Stanton, who saved 27 games in 1993, has 55 career saves and a 4.01 lifetime ERA.