Extra innings

A little more than three weeks ago, we listed players most likely to be dealt before Wednesday's 4 p.m. non-waivers trade deadline. Of those original 18, four have swapped teams since, which leaves plenty of chips still on the table for the next 96 hours or so.

How frenzied will it be up to the final minutes? As Brian Cashman indicated Friday after the Yankees' trade for Alfonso Soriano, it depends on what you're looking for. In his quest for a power bat, it sounds as though he settled for Soriano, a soon-to-be 38-year-old with another year left on his contract. But these can be desperate times for teams trying to stay afloat in the playoff hunt.

"The market is really thin on offense," Cashman said. "So if somebody comes to the marketplace with a bat, they're going to have a lot of people to talk to. Pitching seems to be out there a lot, but the bats aren't.''

Leading up to Friday's deal with the Cubs, Cashman got the sense that teams are "willing to try to conclude things," which is why the Yankees finally jumped for Soriano.

In handicapping the deadline sprint, entering action Saturday, 14 teams either were holding a playoff spot or were within five games of one. So with nearly half of the clubs legitimately in the hunt and a handful of others still dreaming, here's what we know so far and what to look for as we count down to Wednesday:

WHO'S MOVED

1RICKY NOLASCO, RHP, to Dodgers: Among the most obvious to be moved, with the Marlins anxious to shed the $5 million left on his contract, Nolasco was shipped to Los Angeles on July 6 for three pitching prospects: Josh Wall, Angel Sanchez and Steve Ames. In four starts since, he is 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA, and the first-place Dodgers are 13-3 since making the deal.

2 MATT GARZA, RHP, to Rangers: Another difference-maker. The everything-must-go Cubs sent him to Texas last Monday in a package that included one of the Rangers' top prospects in third baseman Mike Olt. Garza pitched 71/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees two days later.

3 FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, RHP, to Orioles: K-Rod has trouble getting a job at the start of this season, but the sinking Brewers had no problem finding a taker as Baltimore acted quickly Tuesday to beat out a number of other suitors. The cost was Nick Delmonico, a minor-league infielder, and K-Rod served up a homer in his O's debut. They began 1-3 with Rodriguez in the fold.

4 ALFONSO SORIANO, OF, to Yankees: He waived his no-trade clause to return to the Bronx. With the Yankees' woeful production against lefthanded pitchers, they had to get something done. Not that he made an immediate impact, going 0-for-5 Friday with an RBI, the result of a bases-loaded forceout in the ninth inning of a 10-6 loss to the Rays, and 0-for-3 yesterday.