Just before the trade deadline, the first-place Braves made two separate trades to bring in Kyle Farnsworth, Rick Ankiel, and Wilkin Ramirez.

This is the second go-around in Atlanta for Farnsworth, who was quietly having a spectacular season in Kansas City. He sports a sparkling 2.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 36 Ks/12 BB in 45 IP. He hasn’t been in the NL since 2005, so in addition to his rediscovered skillset, he may also have the benefit of mystery.

Also coming from the Royals is outfielder Rick Ankiel, whose season has been marred by a leg injury and sporadic playing time. He will be a welcome addition to centerfield for the Braves, who lost patience with a struggling Nate McLouth and now have Melky Cabrera manning the position. It does, however make them a little lefty-heavy and vulnerable to effective LOOGYs (such as the one acquired by the Marlins a few hours ago). The Braves sent Gregor Blanco, Jesse Chavez, and Tim Collins to the Royals.

To further add to their outfield depth, the Braves also acquired Wilkin Ramirez from Detroit for a player to be named later and cash. I don’t know if he will be added to the 25-man roster or assigned to their AAA club. He was hitting .216 in AAA prior to the deal, but was a highly touted prospect before 2010.

In other news, the Giants picked up righthanded reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox and lefthanded reliever Javier Lopez from the Pirates. They gave up John Bowker for Ramirez and Joe Martinez for Lopez.

Finally, the Red Sox made a corresponding move, acquiring Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Rangers in return for two players not named Mike Lowell — Roman Mendez, Chris McGuinness, a player to be named later, and cash.

Meanwhile, the Mets stood pat, having no need for relief pitchers, outfielders, or players whose names don’t fit on the back of a jersey.

Seems that everyone in baseball is getting involved in the excitement of the annual trade deadline … heck, even the Pittsburgh Pirates are wheeling and dealing.

This morning, the Bucs sent Ryan Church (remember him?), Bobby Crosby, and D.J. Carrasco to Arizona (well, technically, they’re being “sent” to New York from St. Louis) in return for Chris Snyder and a minor leaguer.

Seems like an unusual trade for both sides — how often do you see two “sellers” hook up to make a deadline deal? The Pirates get a talented catcher who has been saddled with chronic back issues to add to a stable of backstops that already includes Jason Jaramillo and the similarly injury-prone Ryan Doumit. Doumit recently was placed on the DL with a mild concussion.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks get three over-30 veterans who are unlikely to be with the club next season. Both Church and Crosby have been terrible offensively in limited action with the Bucs, but Carrasco has been more than passable in a middle-relief role, sporting a 3.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 45 Ks / 22 BB in 56 IP.

Over the winter, I suggested that Crosby would’ve been a more efficient idea to be the utilityman than Alex Cora, and advocated him again when Jose Reyes went down. Despite the .220 average he’s posted with the Pirates, I stand by my original thoughts. Why? Because his monetary cost is half that of Cora and he doesn’t have an option kicking in for 2011. Further, his rancid .595 OPS is still about 60 points better than Cora, he’s shown some HR power in the past, and he can capably play all 4 infield positions. Crosby may not be a future manager some day, but he might have a few more granules of grit.

Not sure why I’m ranting about Bobby Crosby — it’s not like he would’ve made a difference on the 2010 Mets.

Carrasco, on the other hand, might have been a welcome addition to the Mets’ bullpen right now. I realize that the relief corps has been surprisingly good since the All-Star Exhibition, but we will be seeing more performances similar to Raul Valdes‘ last night as the arms get more worn and exposed. I’m a little surprised that the Mets haven’t yet acquired a low-cost, obtainable, usable reliever such as Carrasco. Though, I suppose that’s because Ryota Igarashi and Sean Green will be ready to return any day now (joy!).

Snyder used to be intriguing for his defensive prowess and power potential, but now that he’s closing in on age 30, there isn’t much hope for significant improvement. He could fall into the Rod Barajas category (little value when not slugging homeruns) or possibly sneak up into Miguel Olivo level (some value when not hitting homers).

The Pirates may be in the news again before the day is done, as the names Paul Maholm, Octavio Dotel, and Javier Lopez are being bandied about. Must be fun to be a Bucs fan this time every year.