Go West, Young Men

A look at how the contending teams in the NL West improved themselves in the week before the trade deadline:

DODGERS

* Acquired: Pitchers James Baldwin, Terry Mulholland and Mike Trombley.

* Traded: Pitchers Mike Fetters, Onan Masaoka, Gary Majewski and Kris Foster; outfielder Jeff Barry and catcher Geronimo Gil.

* Outlook: The Dodgers enhanced their rotation and bullpen. Opponents are batting only .200 against Trombley, who will share setup duties with Matt Herges. Mulholland fares well against lefties (.222 opponent average), but is not nearly as effective against right-handed batters (.304 average). Baldwin fills an injury void in the rotation left by Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort. Mulholland and Trombley are signed through next season, Baldwin will be a free agent after this season.

GIANTS

* Acquired: First baseman Andres Galarraga, pitchers Jason Christiansen, Jason Schmidt and Wayne Gomes and outfielder John Vander Wal.

* Traded: Pitchers Erasmo Ramirez, Todd Ozias, Ryan Vogelsong and Kevin Joseph, outfielders Armando Rios and Chris Magruder and utilityman Felipe Crespo.

* Outlook: The Giants did the most to improve, acquiring a hot starter in Schmidt (2.83 ERA in July), who will replace rookie Ryan Jensen in the rotation. Vander Wal is a pennant-race veteran, having helped Colorado and San Diego make the playoffs in years past. Not only is he a solid everyday outfielder, he is one of the best pinch-hitters around. Galarraga, 40, will play against left-handers and give struggling J.T. Snow some incentive to play better at first. Christiansen will pitch only against the key left-handed batters. He has made 30 appearances this season, but has pitched only 19 1/3 innings.

ARIZONA

* Acquired: Pitcher Albie Lopez and catcher Mike DiFelice.

* Traded: Pitcher Nick Bierbrodt.

* Outlook: The Diamondbacks did little to improve, trading Bierbrodt, who has a lot of potential (2.18 ERA at triple-A Tucson), for an ineffective Lopez (5-12, 5.61 ERA) and a light-hitting backup catcher.