Expos Looking to Make Major Deals

The surprising Montreal Expos, having already made one big deal, went into the All-Star break trying to close another trade to get outfielder Cliff Floyd and right-hander Ryan Dempster from the Florida Marlins.

The Expos also were discussing a deal that would bring them right-hander Orlando Hernandez from the New York Yankees.

They boosted their postseason chances June 27 by getting pitcher Bartolo Colon from Cleveland.

The Expos, who survived baseball’s off-season plan to eliminate them, trail Atlanta by 9 1/2 games in the National League East. They are five games behind Arizona in the wild-card race.

To add Floyd to their outfield and Dempster to their rotation, the Expos discussed trading pitchers Masato Yoshii and Graeme Lloyd and three prospects to the Marlins, two people familiar with the talks said Sunday, speaking on the condition they not be identified.

One of those is double-A pitcher Josh Karp, a former UCLA star who was on the U.S. team in Sunday’s Futures game as part of All-Star week.

“There are a lot of rumors flying around,” Karp said. “It’s a crazy situation, seeing a lot of guys in the organization being traded.”

The Expos need approval from Major League Baseball to raise their payroll.

Marlin owner Jeffrey Loria sold the Expos to the other 29 teams in February after the contraction plan fell through.

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Randy Johnson became the latest pitcher to back out of the All-Star game, opting to prepare for the second half of the season instead of pitching for the National League.

Earlier in the day, San Francisco closer Robb Nen and Philadelphia starter Vicente Padilla were added to the NL team as injury replacements. They will replace Atlanta’s Tom Glavine and St. Louis’ Matt Morris.

Johnson, 12-3 with a 2.47 ERA for Arizona, wants to prepare for his next start Thursday in Los Angeles.

“It’s an honor to be selected,” Johnson said after the Diamondbacks’ 5-2 loss to San Francisco in Arizona on Sunday night.

“But it’s in my best interest to rest the next couple of days and be physically and mentally ready.”

Atlanta setup man Mike Remlinger was picked as Johnson’s replacement. It will be his first All-Star appearance.

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Shortstop Alex Gonzalez of the Marlins was taken to a Miami hospital for tests after he woke up with stomach pains.

Gonzalez was later transferred to Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, where he remained Sunday afternoon for further evaluation.

Team officials did not know if any problems had been found and were unsure if Gonzalez would remain there overnight.

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The Oakland Athletics made room on their roster for newly acquired left-hander Ted Lilly by optioning right-hander Mike Fyhrie to triple-A Sacramento.

Oakland got Lilly from the Yankees in a three-team trade that also involved Detroit.