BASEBALL Boston gets Williamson as trades heat up

The Yankees traded unhappy outfielder Raul Mondesi to Arizona.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
With the trade deadline fast approaching, plenty of moves are being made.
Boston bolstered its bullpen for the stretch run, acquiring Cincinnati closer Scott Williamson on Tuesday to become the setup man for Byung-Hyun Kim.
The Yankees, who lead the Red Sox by 11/2 games in the AL East, unloaded unhappy Raul Mondesi to Arizona, two days after the outfielder bolted the team in Boston because he was unhappy that manager Joe Torre had pinch-hit for him. New York received outfielder David Dellucci and two minor leaguers.
There were five trades in all Tuesday involving 19 players, two days before the deadline for deals without waivers.
Williamson, the NL Rookie of the Year in 1999, converted 21 of 26 save opportunities for the Reds this season.
"He's got three well above-average pitches and it's really a potent combination coming out of the bullpen," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.
Boston obtained Kim in a May 29 trade with Arizona, and he will remain the closer.
"We're extraordinarily happy with the job that Byung-Hyun Kim has done as a closer," Epstein said.
Other deals
In other deals:
UThe Chicago White Sox acquired left-hander Scott Schoeneweis and a minor leaguer from Anaheim for reliever Gary Glover and two minor leaguers.
UThe New York Mets traded seldom-used infielder Rey Sanchez to Seattle for minor league outfielder Kenny Kelly.
UThe Yankees deal right-hander Dan Miceli to Houston for a player to be named or cash.
The Reds' trade was their first since firing general manager Jim Bowden on Monday.
"We've been talking to the Reds on and off for a week or two," Epstein said. "Once they made their move in the front office, things really accelerated ... we got down to business very quickly."
Cincinnati got left-hander Phillip Dumatrait, 22. He was 7-5 with a 3.02 ERA in 21 games at Class A Sarasota.
Epstein said the Red Sox are still looking to acquire another starter before the trading deadline.
"A great opportunity came along and we feel that we made our team a lot better," he said. "We're not done."
Moving on
Mondesi, 32, is joining his fourth team in five seasons. He returns to the National League, where he was rookie of the year with the Dodgers in 1994.
Mondesi is hitting .258 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs in 98 games but had only five hits in his last 27 at-bats. On Sunday, after Torre sent Ruben Sierra to the plate for him in the eighth inning, Mondesi angrily left the Yankees' clubhouse. He was not on the team's charter flight to California, and traveled on his own.
"After he was pinch hit for by Joe Torre, he decided he was going to shut it down, shower up and leave," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "That's what made Joe Torre and I decide on another venue for Raul. At that point, we were pointing in two different directions and weren't on the same page."
In addition to Dellucci, who was hitting .242 with two homers and 19 RBIs, the Yankees also got right-hander Bret Prinz and catcher John Sprowl.
"To me, discipline is a big part of being a good team," Torre said. "And a lot of the discipline has to come from within yourself. I know he was frustrated, ... He's not a bad person, and I want to make sure everybody knows that. I just think he got emotional about it, and it's not good for the club."
Bullpen help
In addition to Schoeneweis, the White Sox acquired right-hander Doug Nickle and sent right-hander Scott Dunn and left-hander Tim Bittner to Anaheim.
Schoeneweis, the only lefty in the Angels' bullpen, made 47 starts the previous two years but was used exclusively in relief this season. He is 1-1 with a 3.96 ERA in 39 appearances this season. The 29-year-old has a 28-31 career record with a 5.10 ERA in 183 games, including 74 starts.
"Right now, our primary need for him is in the bullpen," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "He's not stretched out enough to go into the rotation."
Nickle was 2-2 with four saves and a 1.48 ERA in 34 relief appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake City. He will be assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Glover, 26, was 1-0 with a 4.54 ERA in 24 relief appearances with Chicago.
Dunn, 25, was 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in eight relief appearances with Double-A Birmingham after being acquired July 6 in a trade with Cincinnati.
Bittner, 23, went 4-4 with a 3.40 ERA in 10 starts for Single-A Kannapolis and 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 17 relief appearances for Single-A Winston-Salem.
Sanchez was hitting .207 with 12 RBIs in 174 at-bats this season with New York. He has one-third of his $1.3 million salary left for this season, and the Mariners will pay a portion of that, Mets interim general manager Jim Duquette said.