The two biggest bats on the market, outfielder Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada, apparently are staying put. Neither slugger, despite interest by several teams, was traded before Monday's 1 p.m. non-waiver deadline.

The trade deadline has officially passed and the commissioner's office is releasing the results, which will be tricking out over the next hour or so. The big news on a rather dull day for trades is the Chicago Cubs dealing Greg Maddux to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who also acquired shortstop Julio Lugo from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Other trades:

The New York Mets get: pitchers Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez from the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Xaiver Nady;

The Texas Rangers get: OF/1B/DH Matt Stairs from the Kansas City Royals for Triple-A reliever Joselo Diaz;

The San Diego Padres get: 2B Todd Walker, who will play 3B for the Pads, for 19-year-old pitcher Jose Cerda, who goes to the Cubs;

The Colorado Rockies get: pitchers Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista from the Kansas City Royals for 1B Ryan Shealy and pitcher Scott Dohmann;

The Rangers get pitcher Kip Wells from the Pirates for Jesse Chavez;

The St. Louis Cardinals get pitcher Jorge Sosa from the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Rich Scalamandre;

The Yankees get OF/1B Craig Wilson from the Pirates for pitcher Shawn Chacon.

The Cincinnati Reds continue to fortify their pitching staff with a pair of trades on Monday just before the trading deadline of 1 p.m.

The Reds acquired 39-year-old left-handed reliever Rheal Cormier (2-2, 1.59 ERA) from the Philadelphia Phillies and disappointing right-hander Kyle Lohse (2-5, 7.07) from the Minnesota Twins. Both came relatively cheap, costing Cincinnati pitchers Justin Germano and minor leaguer Zach Ward.

Also, the Detroit Tigers received veteran first baseman Sean Casey from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league pitcher Brian Rogers. Casey, a career .304 hitter, is hitting .296 after being hurt for a good portion of the year with a back injury.

At 1 p.m. Pacific time today, baseball's non-waiver trade deadline expires. Expect some deals to go down, and quite possibly some that could shape the American League West for the next two months.

The Mariners have added some offense with the recent additions of Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez. They're still a little short in the starting pitching category, but then again, so are most teams. It seems unlikely they would be able to pull anything off for a starter at this stage.

The A's and Angels have decent rotations but are lacking offense. Both are linked to the biggest bats in the rumor mill. The Angels have tried to land Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada and are in the running for Washington outfielder Alfonso Soriano. An Internet report on Monday said the A's are making an 11th hour move for Soriano, who could also be spun off to a third team. (A's GM Billy Beane is known for these types of deals, so don't put anything past him).

The Rangers made a move on Friday, and a curious one at that. They picked up slugging outfielder Carlos Lee from Milwaukee and weakened their bullpen in the process, sending former closer Francisco Cordero to the Brewers. Look for Texas to try and acquire a reliever and possibly a starting pitcher if they can.

Keep checking the blog for updates, I'll post if something goes down.

I'm back from vacation and ready to go. Here are the rankings, updated after a little hiatus:

1. Detroit (2) – There’s some concern about Kenny Rogers, who has given up four or more runs in five of six starts.
2. Boston (4) – Hoping David Wells is not only big but a big help to the rotation.
3. New York Mets (3) – Staying motivated will be biggest challenge in last two months.
4. New York Yankees (5) – Two AL East teams might yet make the playoffs this year.
5. Minnesota (7): Imagine where they would be if they would have used Liriano as a starter to begin the season.
6. Chicago White Sox (1): Their fans should hold off on making October plans.
7. Toronto (6) – The Argonuats, at 2-3, have a better chance of making the CFL playoffs than the Blue Jays do of passing Boston and the Yankees.
8. St. Louis (9) – Vampires, beware: Cardinals have major-league best 28-9 record during the day.
9. Cincinnati (15) – Hooray for Eddie: Guardado goes 5-for-5 as Reds’ closer.
10. Oakland (8) – A good run over the next 12 games against the AL West could give them control of the division.
11. San Diego (11) – Someone’s got to win the West and that someone is looking more and more like the Padres.
12. Los Angeles Angels (19) – Better than they showed early in the season but still not as good as they might be.
13. Arizona (21) – Never underestimate a Bob Melvin team … at least until August.
14. Texas (14) – I would love the Carlos Lee trade if he was a right-handed pitcher.
15. San Francisco (16) – Giants once had the Say Hey Kid, now they have Say What Shea.
16. Mariners (18) – Guess the players will have to get rid of their Crazy Carl T-shirts.
17. Atlanta (22) – Feeling Chipper: Jones puts together career-high 20-game hitting streak.
18. Colorado (11) – Broncos fans rooting for collapse so Denver media can devote all their time to football.
19. Milwaukee (16) – Carlos Lee trade signals Brewers are all about 2007… or 2008 or …
20. Houston (17) – Remind us again why signing Roger Clemens was such a big deal.
21. Los Angeles Dodgers (12) – Dodgers stink worse than late summer smog in the L.A. basin.
22. Baltimore (24) – Fernando Tatis? Are the Orioles looking to sign Mark Whiten next?
23. Florida (27) – Are wisely holding on to pitcher Dontrelle Willis.
24. Philadelphia (23) – Gillick can’t afford to be Stand Pat in Philadelphia.
25. Washington (26) – Apparently the Rainiers are the only team in America not involved in the Soriano sweepstakes.
26. Cleveland (20) – They’ll trade Chief Wahoo if the price is right.
27. Tampa Bay (25) – No fair: In 10-game stretch vs. Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox.
28. Chicago Cubs (29) – So Dusty Baker gets to stay for the rest of the season. Is this a reward or punishment?
29. Pittsburgh Pirates (30) – What’s black and gold and goes flop? Hint: It’s a baseball team.
30. Kansas City (28) – I’ll say this for Odalis Perez. He’s a left-handed pitcher.

Reporter Darrin Beene, the manager of this blog, is taking a few days off. He'll return to the blog and the newspaper next week.

... to rank the teams. Here they are:

1. Chicago White Sox (2) – Seven All-Stars? Even Ozzie Guillen must admit that’s a little bit much.
2. Detroit (1) – They are shopping for some left-handed pop, preferably in the outfield.
3. New York Mets (5) – Will need to be careful and rest aging core in second half of season.
4. Boston (3) ¬– They’ll have to hold off Yanks if they want to make playoffs because only one team’s coming out of the AL East this year.
5. New York Yankees (4) – Talk about lucky: Aaron Guiel’s cut by the Royals, signed by the Yankees.
6. Toronto (6) – Likely to be winner of the not-so-coveted award given to the team with most wins not to make the playoffs. …
7. Minnesota (7) – … or it could go to the Twins, who are improving but have little hope of leap-frogging White Sox, Tigers.
8. Oakland (9) – Rich Harden’s elbow acts up, making return not likely until mid-August.
9. St. Louis (7) – They acquired the wrong Weaver from Angels.
10. San Diego (11) – Great city, beautiful ballpark, mediocre baseball team.
11. Colorado (12) – Rockies’ idea of being in the hunt prior to this season is being 3 games back in May.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (15) – Since signing a $19 million deal in 2004, Eric Gagne’s pitched 15 1/3 innings.
13. San Francisco (16) – The all-AARP outfield: Moises Alou, 40; Steve Finley, 41; Barry Bonds, 41.
14. Texas (14) – Always short on pitching and now short on power: Rangers are 11th in homers in AL.
15. Cincinnati (10) – Good luck, Eddie, you’ll need it in that park.
16. Milwaukee (17) – Think of the shocked network executives if the Brewers and Rockies make the playoffs.
17. Houston (18) – Division is coming back to them, which could make another second half charge possible.
18. Mariners (13) – Like Old Faithful, you just knew Carl Everett was due for an explosion.
19. Angels (24) – As bad as they’ve played it wouldn’t be a surprise if they’re leading the division come September.
20. Cleveland (23) – 3B Aaron Boone about to be replaced by prospect Andy Marte.
21. Arizona (22) – They’re a starting pitcher, a dependable setup man and an outfielder short of being good.
22. Atlanta (26) – Likely to be dismantled by the trading deadline.
23. Philadelphia (21) – See above.
24. Baltimore (19) – They keep trying to be a Have in their division only to wind up a Have Not.
25. Tampa Bay (25) – Bold prediction: Rays won’t finish last in AL East this season.
26. Washington (27) – Well D.C., at least you have a team.
27. Florida (20) – We had to check it twice, but it’s true. Dan Uggla, All-Star. Who knew?
28. Kansas City (28) – Break up the Royals after taking two-of-three from red-hot Twins.
29. Chicago Cubs (29) – Dusty Baker a good bet to be the first manager fired.
30. Pittsburgh (30) – For the first time all season, talented players on both sides of the field will play in PNC Park.

The Mariners on Friday promoted Double-A reliever Mark Lowe to take the spot of the just-traded Eddie Guardado.

To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Jeremy Reed was transfered to the 60-day disabled list with a fractured right thumb.

Lowe, 23, posted a 1-2 record with six saves and 1.96 ERA in 24 games, two starts, combined between Single-A Inland Empire and Double-A San Antonio this season. In 46.0 innings, he struck out 60 batters, allowed just 14 runs, 10 earned, and held his opponents average to .187.

Lowe started the season at Inland Empire and was on the disabled list from May 4-21 with a right shoulder strain. He was promoted to San Antonio June 3 and tossed 13.0 consecutive scoreless innings. Lowe was the Mariners' fifth round selection in the 2004 June draft.

On Thursday morning, the Seattle Mariners traded reliever Eddie Guardado to the Cincinnati Reds for Double-A pitcher Travis Chick.

The Reds, desperately trying to keep pace with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, have been searching for a closer all season. Guardado had lost his closer role to J.J. Putz and is 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA with five savez. In his career, Guardado is 175 saves.

Chick, 22, joined the Reds last year as part of a trade that sent Joe Randa to the San Diego Padres. He is 4-5, 4.61 in 16 starts with the Chattanooga Lookouts. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound righty has allowed only 79 hits in 84.0 innings, while walking 36 and striking out 77. Chick has held opponents to a .249 average, including a .222 average vs. right-handers. He entered the 2006 season ranked by Baseball America as the 10th-best prospect in the Reds organization.

The Reds made the deal after blowing two leads in extra innings in Wednesday's 6-5, 13-inning loss to Milwaukee. Adding to the woes, Cincinnati reliever Brian Shackelford was arrested on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault after the game.

Guardado is expected to join the Reds in Atlanta on Friday. Cincinnati began the day two games behind St. Louis in the NL Central but has lost five straight.

The Mariners have called up two Rainiers – outfielder Shin Soo Choo and pitcher Emiliano Fruto – for Monday's game against the Angels.

Choo takes the place of Jeremy Reed, who broke his thumb trying to make a catch on Sunday. Fruto replaces Sean Green, who suffered back spasms after Sunday's game.

That question – who starts in center? – is going to be a tough one for the Mariners to answer now that Jeremy Reed is headed to the disabled list with a broken thumb. Here's a rundown of the possibilities:

1. Willie Bloomquist – Bloomquist has already logged time there this season because of Reed's inability to hit lefties. The position is not Bloomquist's strongest defensively, but he's OK. Probably not the long term answer if Reed should be out for two or more months, however, because of his glove and his light bat.

2. Ichiro – Here's one that will gain traction in the coming days. Ichiro has not been asked to go there, at least not on Sunday. Would he go if asked is another whole issue, and it's one that has never been explored because the Mariners have always insisted that Ichiro was a great right fielder, so why would they change that? They might have to because they aren't any better options right now in the majors or in the minors.

3. Chris Snelling – Snelling's knee injuries have cost him not only playing time over the last few years but probably some of his range as an outfielder. He has played center this season at Tacoma, but not everyday. He's left-handed, which is attractive to the Mariners, but he hasn't proven to be 100 percent healthy yet and playing center might be more demanding than he could handle at this stage. His numbers in Tacoma suggests he can still hit, however: .296 with 29 RBI in just 125 at-bats.

4. Adam Jones – Jones is only 20 and in his first year of playing center and is playing for the first time at Triple-A. He's done as well as can be expected but he still encounters rough stretches on defense, as his team-high eight errors would suggest. He's got all the tools but he's probably not ready to handle the job just yet. He's been streaky with the Rainiers at the plate, but his numbers are still pretty good: .275, 11 homers, 41 RBI and 12 steals in 309 at-bats.

5. Shin Soo Choo – Choo is tearing up the PCL right now, hitting .327 with 11 homers and 22 steals. Center, though, is not a good fit for him however. He's better at the corners, which would mean Ichiro would have to go to center if the Mariners wanted to put a solid defender in center. Choo's left-handed, which means he could platoon with Bloomquist if Seattle wanted to keep Ichiro in right at least part of the time.

6. T.J. Bohn – A good center fielder, Bohn is on the DL after injuring his hand in June. He has not played in a month and is not an option right now.

7. Sebastian Boucher – Boucher plays center at Double-A San Antonio, but he's not major-league ready. He's hitting just .243 with only seven extra base hits in 259 at-bats.

This week's rankings feature little change at the top. The list:

WEEKLY RANKINGS

1. Detroit (1) – Sorry Felix; Justin Verlander is the best hard-throwing young right-handed starter in AL right now.
2. Chicago White Sox (2) – With all the brawlin’ and jawin’, these White Sox remind of the old Bronx Zoo Yankees.
3. Boston (3) – The Red Sox, dominant at home, play 44 of final 76 games at Fenway Park.
4. New York Yankees (5) ¬– They’re doing it with smoke and mirrors… just ones that cost about $200 million.
5. New York Mets (4) – They might be the best in the NL but they would finish third – and maybe fourth – in AL East.
6. Toronto (8) – Look for Blue Jays to be involved in all of the big trade rumors this month.
7. St. Louis (5) – Eight-game losing streak longest of manager Tony La Russa’s 11-year career with Cardinals.
8. Minnesota (13) – They’re hotter than a ticket to the Frozen Four.
9. Oakland (7) – Inconsistent offense is keeping them from running away in the West.
10. Cincinnati (9) – Simple equation: W’s = $ for GM Wayne Krivisky, manager Jerry Narron.
11. San Diego (10) – See A’s comments.
12. Colorado (16) – They’ve taken their lumps with the kids but it’s beginning to pay off.
13. Mariners (17) – It could be time to break out those “Refuse to Lose” T-shirts from the back of your closet.
14. Texas (11) – It’s a climate thing; the weather heated up and the team went cold.
15. Los Angeles Dodgers (14) – No offense to the Cougs out there but Mark Hendrickson is not the answer to Dodgers’ pitching woes.
16. San Francisco (18) – Learning it’s no coincidence that DL is two-thirds of the word old.
17. Milwaukee (15) –
18. Houston (12) – They got their pitching help but now they need some hitting help.
19. Baltimore (22) – Since GM Pat Gillick left after 1997, the Orioles have not had a winning season. Sound familiar?
20. Florida (21) – These flying Fish (17-7 in June) could soar all the way to second place in NL East.
21. Philadelphia (20) – 1B Ryan Howard is a masher; the team is just a disaster.
22. Arizona (19) – Bob Melvin’s theme song: “Free Falling” by Tom Petty.
23. Cleveland (25) – Series win against St. Louis was first in eight attempts.
24. Los Angeles Angels (23) – Begin crucial stretch on Monday with seven games vs. Mariners and A’s.
25. Tampa Bay (26) – Getting catcher Dioner Navarro looks like a good move.
26. Atlanta (27) – In danger of being passed by the Thrashers (that’s hockey, FYI) as city’s best pro sports team.
27. Washington (24) – Just as it looked like they had turned a corner the Nats ran smack into a dead end.
28. Kansas City (29) – Beginning to distance themselves from talk about the 1962 Mets.
29. Chicago Cubs (28) – Have ordered Dusty Baker to undergo sensitivity training in order to be more like the White Sox.
30. Pittsburgh (30) – As far as baseball goes, this city truly is the pits.

The Mariners finished June at 18-8, their best month since going 19-8 in May of 2003. They did it by leading the majors in homers with 39 and finishing fourth in ERA at 3.60. The stretch allowed the Mariners to pull within two games of the first-place A's. Here's what manager Mike Hargrove had to say about it: click here