Rivals Leave a Trade Mark

The rumors became reality Thursday night when the Oakland Athletics sent Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals for three pitchers.

Two deals were completed earlier Thursday. San Francisco got pitchers Wilson Alvarez, Roberto Hernandez and Danny Darwin from the Chicago White Sox in return for six minor leaguers.

The Cleveland Indians helped their ailing starting pitching by acquiring left-hander John Smiley from Cincinnati in a six-player deal that should help the Reds rebuild.

In the McGwire trade, both sides took turns confirming and denying the deal in the days leading up to the trading deadline, with McGwire angrily saying he had been misquoted about a possible trade while the A’s were in New York.

McGwire, 33, led the majors last season with 52 homers, and has homered with more frequency than any player in history other than Babe Ruth. The deal will reunite McGwire with Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa, who was with the A’s from 1986-95.

“It’s not an easy decision to make, but I think you come to a crossroads in your life, where change is good,” McGwire said.

McGwire has hit his 363 homers in 4,448 at-bats, or one in every 12.25 at-bats. Ruth averaged a home run every 11.76 at-bats.

In return for McGwire, the Cardinals got right-handed pitchers T.J. Mathews, Eric Ludwick and Blake Stein.

Meanwhile, catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who rejected an offer from the Texas Rangers last week, signed a five-year contract extension worth $42 million.

“This is the team I want to be with for my whole career,” the six-time all-star catcher said.

The Giants are desperate for experienced pitching as their lead has shrunk in the NL West.

“This absolutely sends the message to our organization that we’re committed to winning a championship this year,” San Francisco General Manager Brian Sabean said. “You only get so many opportunities like we have this season, and we’re determined to make the most of it.”

After spending $55 million last winter to get Albert Belle out of Cleveland, the White Sox have been a major disappointment. They entered Thursday night’s game one game under .500 and trailing Cleveland by three games in the AL Central.

“It’s definitely not throwing in the towel for the season,” Chicago General Manager Ron Schueler said. “Some of the kids we got in the trade we’ve got outstanding reports on. . . . Our future is not that far away.

“We’ve had 102 or 103 games to get better and we still aren’t a .500 ballclub,” he added. “.500 clubs just don’t win.”

The Indians, who have been waiting for pitchers Jack McDowell, Chad Ogea and Brian Anderson to come back from injuries, are coming off a disastrous 4-10 homestand that concluded with a four-game sweep by the Angels.

“The message we wanted to send to this club is: ‘We believe in you. We’ve seen you play. We think you needed help, and we’re giving it to you,”’ Indian General Manager John Hart said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Wheeling and Dealing

A look at the major acquisitions division contenders made before the trade deadline:

AL WEST

Angels: Pitcher Ken Hill. Infielder-Outfielder Tony Phillips.

Seattle: Pitchers Omar Olivares, Felipe Lira, Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric.

AL CENTRAL

Cleveland: Pitcher John Smiley. Third baseman Jeff Branson.

AL EAST

Baltimore: Designated hitter Harold Baines.

New York: Outfielder Pete Incaviglia.

NL WEST

San Francisco: Pitchers Pat Rapp, Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernandez.

NL CENTRAL

St. Louis: First baseman Mark McGwire.

NL EAST

Florida: First baseman Darren Daulton.