Trading places

Trading places

Here's a thumbnail look at what contending teams might be looking for in the days leading up to the July 31 deadline for making trades without passing players through waivers:

AL East

New York Yankees: Run-producing first baseman or designated hitter. Would pursue Jason Giambi heavily if available. Also believed to be interested in Tampa Bay homebody Fred McGriff.

Boston Red Sox: Big-name starting pitcher. Al Leiter would be a nice fit. Reliever Ugueth Urbina may be in the mix.

AL Central

Cleveland Indians: Hungry for go-to starting pitcher. Leiter and Pedro Astacio have the right stuff. They're also believed to be scouting durable long man Scott Sullivan.

Minnesota Twins: Team with limited budget toyed with acquiring Orioles pitcher Jose Mercedes but seems more serious about Jason Schmidt. Twins also seek a playoff-hardened run-producer.

AL West

Oakland Athletics: After adding run-producing outfielder Jermaine Dye, they covet reliever Kelvim Escobar.

Seattle Mariners: Right-handed-hitting outfielder (Juan Encarnacion? Mark Quinn?) and starting pitcher. Savvy general manager Pat Gillick won't rule anybody out, but Leiter would be the best fit for the only team with a playoff spot wrapped up.

NL East

Atlanta Braves: Already traded John Rocker to Indians for two relievers and picked up Ken Caminiti to beef up lineup.

Philadelphia Phillies: Bullpen help (Mike Williams? Turk Wendell? Dennis Cook? David Weathers?) and offensive punch certainly would improve their chances of holding off the Braves.

Florida Marlins: Still-viable contender probably will stay with what got them this far -- good young pitching -- but adding Schmidt would give them more.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs: Power-hitting first baseman. On-again, off-again trade for McGriff may be on again. Tony Clark is also a possibility.

Houston Astros: Pitching depth. They like Astacio and Leiter, but may not have budget to absorb salary of either one.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks: Just-acquired Albie Lopez gives the D'backs quantity to go with quality twosome at top of rotation. Might pursue shortstop Rey Ordonez.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Kansas City's acquisition of Neifi Perez makes Rey Sanchez available to a team that can use more production at shortstop.