(AP)

CHICAGO — So how did Theo Epstein and his subordinate Jed Hoyer do at their first trade deadline with the Chicago Cubs? Despite spending most of their time trying to accommodate a trade request by Ryan Dempster, not too bad.

In a deadline-beating trade Tuesday afternoon, the Cubs sent Dempster to the Texas Rangers for a pair of Class A minor leaguers. As first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cubs got Kyle Hendricks, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, and Christian Villanueva, a 21-year-old third baseman.

Dempster had wanted a trade to the Dodgers, and used his 10-and-five veto power to nix a trade with Atlanta, reportedly his second choice, after the Cubs failed to agree with Los Angeles. The Cubs kept trying with the Dodgers, and also engaged the Yankees, in an effort over the past few agonizing days to move Dempster somewhere before he filed for free agency.

But the Rangers, who also tried to get Matt Garza from the Cubs (as Yahoo! Sports' own Tim Brown noted), won in the end. And Dempster got his wish. Finally. Sort of. Not everything was about him, though. The Cubs also made a pair of deals late Monday, one of which looks extremely promising: Getting pitcher Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves for Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm. Vizcaino is recovering from Tommy John surgery, but could be a closer in the future.

Dempster made his way around Wrigley on Tuesday afternoon, saying his final good-byes before joining the Rangers in Texas (where he has knocked Roy Oswalt from the starting rotation). Via the Chicago Tribune, Hoyer said Dempster spent a significant amount of time with him, getting an insider's view of how hard it can be to actually make a trade.

The Angels swung a deal for Zack Greinke last Friday. (US Presswire)

Major league clubs were busy in the weeks leading up to Tuesday afternoon's trading deadline and each move was ostensibly made to improve each team involved — whether it be for this season or future ones. But which contending teams made the biggest swaps for the races ahead? Here's our take on which moves will have the biggest impact.

1. Zack Greinke traded to Angels: Starting pitching is the name of the game when it comes to postseason play and the Halos went out and got the best starting pitcher on the market. It took a pretty penny to pry Greinke from the Brewers — top prospect and shortstop Jean Segura plus two other top 20 prospects were sent to Wisconsin — but it gives the Angels the best rotation of any American League contender. In addition to buying some insurance for the underwhelming performances of Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, it also strengthens Los Angeles in an area where the rival Texas Rangers are struggling. That's huge in a race where second-place is only guaranteed a play-in game that will largely be determined by the strength of that day's starter.  

(phillies.com)One year after acquiring him from the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies are sending Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants in a deadline day deal.

That's good news for the cost-cutting Phillies, but for one weird problem: The team still has a Hunter Pence bobblehead day scheduled for Aug. 21.

Phillies.com was still touting the giveaway as of Tuesday afternoon. It says a bobblehead will go to "all fans" at Citizens Bank Park, which likely means they've stockpiled about 45,000 of these babies in south Philly.

So with Pence headed west, what are their options? Adding a bonus pack of orange-and-black watercolors so fans can doctor the Pence dolls to reflect the team change? Or to quickly make it into a Nate Schierholtz giveaway given that he was one of the players the Giants are sending to Philly in the deal?

Answer: None of the above. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports that the team will go ahead with the giveaway as planned, no matter that Pence will no longer be a Phillie.

Better to placate their fans with a free toy than have them dwell on the realities of a lost season in Philly, we suppose.

News of the deal was first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and came almost immediately after news of the Shane Victorino trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon.

In addition to Schierholtz, the Phillies receive minor-league catcher Tommy Joseph (who would have been blocked by Buster Posey in San Francisco) and right-handed pitching prospect Seth Rosin.

In Pence, the Giants get a hitter with this line: .271/.336/.447 and 17 home runs, which ought to help their raggedy offense. He's not a free agent until 2014 (which makes the move a little curious for the Phillies) and he's not as good on defense as Schierholtz, who played the unusual right field at AT&T Park rather well. Schierholtz's offense should improve some in the hitter-friendly ballpark in Philly.

Shane Victorino as a Dodger in 2004 (Getty)The Philadelphia Phillies are sending Shane Victorino back to the Los Angeles Dodgers, eight years after plucking him away from the team in the Rule 5 draft.

In return the cost-cutting Phillies will get major league reliever Josh Lindblom and starting pitching prospect Ethan Martin. The completion of the deal was first reported by our own Tim Brown.

Whether or not this signals the start of many goodbyes for the out-of-contention Phillies on Tuesday remains to be seen.

But no questions asked, it definitely draws a curtain on Victorino's tenure as a fan favorite and a consistent contributor in Philadelphia. The Flyin' Hawaiian was a mainstay in the outfield during the franchise's run of five straight NL East titles, recording a line of .279/.345/.439 with 88 home runs and 390 RBI in his eight seasons with the Phillies. He won three straight Gold Gloves from 2008-2010, made two All-Star teams and posted a career year for the 102-win Phillies in 2011. His grand slam off CC Sabathia in the 2008 NLDS will remain one of the most electrifying moments in franchise history.

Hey, we're in no position to judge. If you think Wrigley Field is the best place to pop the question to your girlfriend then go ahead and dip your knee into that growing pool of Old Style in the aisle and ask for her hand in marriage.

But for the love of Jeff Pico, please make sure she doesn't wander away for a hot dog and malt cup when the Cubs actually put your inquiry on the old green scoreboard.

Check out this dude's reaction when he realizes he has a ring and a message but no actual woman to set the magic moment into motion:

_

Luckily Ms. Cub eventually wandered back to her seat during Monday night's 14-4 mashing of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the delayed engagement attempt proved successful.

Here's hoping her casanova ponied up the $110 and got the team to take a picture of the message she originally missed — and that he keeps a closer eye on her when their actual wedding day arrives.

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Back in the '80s, Time-Life ran some awesome but creepy commercials about a series of books it peddled called "Mysteries of the Unknown," which included a segment about an alleged psychic occurrence:

If they were to update these books after Monday night, the Time-Life editors might add another segment — "Ballpark Mischief"? — and include separate incidents of major-league ballplayers punching things and injuring their respective hands in the process.

Ryan Sweeney of the Red Sox and Angel Pagan of the Giants, welcome to the Punchy Club. First, via the Twitter of reporter Sean McAdam, Mr. Sweeney:

The Juice is back for its fifth season of fun! Stop by each weekday for an ample serving of news from the action, plus great photos, stats and video highlights.

Switchblade: Switch-hitting legend Mickey Mantle never did it. Neither did Eddie Murray. But slugger Kendrys Morales joined an exclusive club Monday night, becoming the third batter in major-league history hit a home run from the left and right side of the plate in the same inning, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 15-8 victory at Texas. Carlos Baerga did it with the Indians in 1993 and Mark Bellhorn — remember his iconoclastic facial hair? — did it for the Cubs in 2002. That's it. That's the list. Morales' feat came in a nine-run sixth inning for the Angels, who trail the Rangers by five games in the loss column in the AL West. Morales also became the 25th player in AL history to hit two homers in the same inning, regardless of plate side, which doesn't sound quite as elite.

Here's Morales' take via the Associated Press:

''I'm very excited since it's not an easy thing to do,'' said Morales, a Cuban native who spoke through an interpreter. ''They were good pitches, perhaps mistakes they made. I felt comfortable, and I was able to connect.''

Trading hugs: Strange sights in dugouts across the land Monday night: Players leaving ballgames and hugging their teammates in the dugout, apparently on their way to a new city because of a trade. But to where? The Chicago Cubs made two trades, sending outfielder Reed Johnson and left-hander Paul Maholm to the Braves for pitching prospects that include Arodys Vizcaino, who was considered untouchable over the winter until he underwent Tommy John surgery. Johnson, Maholm and catcher Geovany Soto — who was sent to the Rangers in a separate deal — could all be seen hugging their good-byes in the middle of the Cubs' 14-4 thumping of the Pirates at Wrigley.

Snider to Pirates: Meanwhile in Seattle, before the Mariners could finish off the Blue Jays 4-1, Toronto was busy sending Travis Snider to the Pirates for pitcher Brad Lincoln. Snider gives the Pirates a potentially big bat in the outfield, which they've needed, but he's still prone to strikeouts and hasn't yet established himself as a steady major leaguer in parts of five seasons. Lincoln was establishing himself as a great set-up man for the Pirates, and he'll be missed, but his future in Toronto probably will be as a starting pitcher. In a separate deal, the Jays also sent outfielder Eric Thames to the Mariners for reliever Steve Delabar.

Out of his League: Also in Seattle, the Mariners sent reliever Brandon League to the Dodgers for outfield prospect Leon Landry and right-hander Logan Bawcom, whose agents really should park Loganbaw.com in case he turns into something good. To celebrate League changing leagues, the Dodgers fell 7-2 to Arizona after new D-backs infielder Chris Johnson made his debut by hitting a grand slam and making a nice play at third base.

Late in the evening: The A's stayed hot and lucky, winning 4-3 in 15 innings against the Rays on a sacrifice fly by Jemile Weeks (who had been 0 for 7) in a game taking 5 hours, 9 minutes to finish. Oakland batters struck out a combined 15 times, including 11 against David Price. But no matter: The A's are 19-4 in July with one game to go. They also have 12 walkoff victories (by 11 different players) this season to lead the world. Nine of these wins in their final at-bat have come in the past 17 home games.