Trade

The Kansas City Royals have traded outfielder Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez and another minor league pitcher. Sanchez was the Giants' best pitcher during the latter part of 2010, when they beat the Texas Rangers to win the World Series. But he was just 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA this season before missing the final month with a left ankle sprain. Cabrera hit a career-best .305 with 44 doubles, 18 homers and 87 RBIs in his first season with the Royals.

Congress has approved free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, ending a four-year drought in the forming of new trade partnerships and giving the White House and Capitol Hill the opportunity to show they can work together to stimulate the economy and put people back to work. The House and Senate voted Wednesday on the three trade pacts, which the administration says could boost exports by $13 billion and support tens of thousands of American jobs.

The Detroit Tigers have acquired veteran infielder Wilson Betemit from the Kansas City Royals for Class-A prospects. Betemit hit .281 in 57 games for the Royals, but lost playing time when the Royals promoted rookie third baseman Mike Moustakas from Triple-A Omaha on June 10. Betemit started only five games and had 23 at-bats after Moustakas' arrival. The Royals received left-handed pitcher Antonio Cruz, who was 2-6 with a 3.11 earned run average in 22 games, including 10 starts, with West Michigan in the Midwest League, and catcher Julio Rodriguez, who was hitting .283 in 66 games with Lakeland in the Florida State League.

The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Vin Mazzaro and left-handed pitcher Justin Marks from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for outfielder David DeJesus.  Mazzaro replaces DeJesus on the Major League roster while Marks has been assigned to the Wilmington (A Advanced) roster. “This deal allows us to further increase our pitching depth at the Major and minor league levels,” Royals’ General Manager Dayton Moore said.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have acquired defensive end Alex Magee from the Kansas City Chiefs in hopes of improving the NFL's least productive pass rush. The Bucs are last in the league with four sacks through five games. Magee was obtained Tuesday in exchange for an undisclosed pick in the 2011 draft. The Bucs also will receive an undisclosed pick in the deal. Magee was a third-round pick by the Chiefs in 2009. The second-year pro appeared in 17 games for Kansas City, including one start.

The Cincinnati Reds have acquired utilityman Willie Bloomquist from the Kansas City Royals for either a player to be named or cash. Bloomquist will join the NL Central-leading Reds for the stretch drive. They began the day with a six-game lead over St. Louis. Bloomquist had been set to start in left field Monday in the Royals' game against Oakland. He hit .265 with three home runs and 17 RBIs this season. The 32-year-old Bloomquist has started games this year at second base, third base, left field, center field and designated hitter.

The Wichita Thunder acquired defenseman Jason Goulet in a trade with the Quad City Mallards on Wednesday. Goulet (pronounced goo-LAY) was a physical force for the Mallards last season, finishing third among IHL defensemen with 212 PIM in 73 games.  The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Goulet's 22 fighting majors ranked second among defensemen, and tied for fifth overall. The eighth-year professional enters his third tour inside the CHL.  Goulet collected 165 PIM in just 52 games for the Rapid City Rush in 2008-09 and finished the year fifth among CHL blue liners with 17 fighting majors.

The Wichita Wingnuts completed a deadline deal acquiring all-star closer Dustin Cameron from the Fort Worth Cats on Friday afternoon. Cameron currently ranks fifth in the league with 16 saves while pitching to a 3.35 ERA in 40 appearances. The sidearming right-hander has struck out 36 hitters in 40.1 IP this season. The Joplin, MO native is in his fifth professional season and entered 2010 with a career ERA of 3.13 and 165 strikeouts in 195.2 IP. Cameron saved 14 games for the Pensacola Pelicans in 2008 and notched 14 more last season for the Cats.

Today the Wichita Wingnuts traded outfielder Stephen Pearson to the Sioux City Explorers for right-handed pitcher Jae Jung. Pearson has been with Wichita since the team's inception in 2008.  This season Pearson is hitting .306 for the Wingnuts with 3 home-runs and 33 RBI. Jung is 5-7 this season for Sioux City with a 4.44 ERA in 13 games.  The Wingnuts are off today and continue their 13 game road trip tomorrow at Sioux City.

The NL East-leading Atlanta Braves have acquired outfielder Rick Ankiel, reliever Kyle Farnsworth and cash from the Kansas City Royals in a five-player deal. Atlanta sent pitchers Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez and outfielder Gregor Blanco to Kansas City on Saturday. The 31-year-old Ankiel hit .261 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 27 games for Kansas City.  The 34-year-old Farnsworth is 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA.