Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline came and went rather quietly Monday, with most of the big names rumored to be moving staying put.

Just 16 players changed teams Monday, and as a result the week ended largely as it began, with Alfonso Soriano in Washington, Barry Zito in Oakland, Miguel Tejada with Baltimore and Jason Schmidt in San Francisco.

But then that’s nothing new. In recent years the mid-summer trade period has produced more hype and less substance than Paris Hilton’s acting career.

However, there were teams who improved themselves, some dramatically. And others who, through inactivity, might have slipped.

The winners

¢ Reds: Cincinnati didn’t wait for the deadline to begin gearing up for its playoff push, acquiring closer Eddie Guardado in early July, then picking up relievers Gary Majewski and Bill Bray along with infielder Royce Clayton in an eight-player deal with Washington.

But first-year GM Wayne Krivsky didn’t stop there, adding $2.1 million in salary at the deadline by acquiring situational lefty Rheal Cormier from the Phillies and right-hander Kyle Lohse from Minnesota.

The Cincinnati Reds were among the teams that improved thanks to recent trades, including the acquisition of closer Eddie Guardado.

With the possible exception of the deal for Guardado, who is 6-for-6 in save opportunities with a 1.04 earned-run average since coming over from Seattle, the trades are likely to have a bigger impact in the clubhouse than on the field. And that might be enough to change the complexion of the wild-card race.

“There’s been times when we started out good and we just needed some adjustments, but they didn’t want to spend the money,” Ryan Freel told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “With new owner Bob Castellini, it seems like money is not an object. I just think the guy wants to win.”

¢ Yankees: What the Yankees really needed was a front-line starting pitcher. What they got was Cory Lidle.

Lidle, however, came over from the Phillies with outfielder Bobby Abreu, the biggest name to change teams at the trade deadline. And the Yankees got both on the cheap, sending four minor-leaguers to Philadelphia in exchange.

By acquiring Abreu without losing anyone off the big-league roster, New York sent shudders through the rest of the division. But it could be a costly deal: Abreu is owed $19.4 million over the next season and a half.

¢ Rangers: Texas was among the most active and creative clubs at the deadline, making three major deals in four days that netted a starting pitcher (Kip Wells), an impact player in the outfield (Carlos Lee) and a valuable role player (Matt Stairs). What makes these deals even more significant, though, is that the rest of the division did nothing.

The Cincinnati Reds were among the teams that improved thanks to recent trades, including the acquisition of reliever Rheal Cormier.

The acquisition of Wells might be the one that decides the division race. The right-hander was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in seven starts for Pittsburgh since surgery on a blocked artery in his right shoulder. But he went 1-1, 1.83, in his final three NL starts then welcomed himself to Texas by holding the Twins to a run in five innings in his Rangers debut.

The losers

¢ Red Sox: Boston’s inactivity at the trade deadline – they made one minor deal with Texas, acquiring right-hander Bryan Corey – was made worse by the Yankees’ aggressiveness. They had a chance to get Roy Oswalt from Houston but couldn’t work out the deal. Boston, however, did acquire Javy Lopez from Baltimore on Friday to replace Jason Varitek, out a month after knee surgery.

¢ Nationals: Washington GM Jim Bowden has been ordered to conduct a Marlins-style overhaul to make the team younger and rebuild the farm system. Yet despite numerous suitors he failed to get rid of right-hander Livan Hernandez (owed about $10 million through next season) and outfielder Alfonso Soriano at the deadline, driving such a hard bargain he wound up with no deal. Soriano can walk at the end of the season with Washington getting just a draft pick in return.

¢ Angels: The Angels reportedly were involved in trade talks for Cleveland’s Ben Broussard, Toronto’s Shea Hillenbrand, Milwaukee’s Lee, Baltimore’s Miguel Tejada and Soriano. But for the second year in a row, the team was all talk and no action. Although their offense has picked up recently – the Angels went into the weekend hitting .306 in the second half, second-best in the majors – L.A. still desperately needs a run-producer in the middle of the lineup. And with Bartolo Colon’s health a concern, they could use another starting pitcher, too. They got neither.