AROUND THE MAJORS

Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez will be in New York on Thursday to start strengthening his inflamed right shoulder. But his regimen will not include throwing a baseball.

The team said Martinez will meet with team physician Bill Morgan and team officials before starting his rehabilitation.

Martinez was put on the disabled list June 27.

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John Halama is being rewarded for pitching the first perfect game in Pacific Coast League history Saturday for triple-A Tacoma. Seattle Mariner Manager Lou Piniella said that the veteran left-hander will become his fifth starter and start Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Halama, a 14-game winner for the Mariners last season when they went to the American League championship series, was demoted to Tacoma on June 28 after consecutive ineffective starts against Oakland.

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The Chicago Cubs are trying to acquire Fred McGriff from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to bolster their offense for the stretch run, according to a baseball agent familiar with the talks.

The only sticking point could be that McGriff, a native of Tampa, has a no-trade clause.

McGriff, 37, is having one of his most productive seasons. The former all-star is hitting a team-high .330, and is second in runs batted in (53) and home runs (15).

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The San Diego Padres obtained outfielder Emil Brown from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor-league pitcher Shawn Camp and outfielder Shawn Garrett.