ESPN MLB

The highlight of the 2005 non-waiver deadline came in Cooperstown, when Peter Gammons checked his BlackBerry, told the assembled crowd that Manny Ramirez was staying put in Boston, then delivered an eloquent speech while accepting the J.G. Taylor Spink Award. This is why the man deserves his own wing in the Hall of Fame.

Sometimes, the news comes well before the deadline. Two years ago it happened in June, when Royals general manager Allard Baird sent Carlos Beltran to Houston, giving the Astros a weapon and Beltran a springboard to a nine-figure contract with the Mets in the offseason.

File this year's preliminary activity under "intriguing." The Astros added a bat in Aubrey Huff, the Dodgers picked up Mark Hendrickson for their rotation, and Reds GM Wayne Krivsky shocked everyone by trading regulars Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to upgrade his bullpen.

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