Reds open second half with eight-player trade

The Cincinnati Reds overhauled their rickety bullpen Thursday, getting Gary Majewski and Bill Bray in an eight-player trade that sent outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez to the Washington Nationals.

The playoff-hopeful Reds also acquired shortstop Royce Clayton, infielder Brendan Harris and pitcher Daryl Thompson from the last-place Nationals.

Clayton most likely would replace Lopez, who made the All-Star game last year. The Reds gave up reliever Ryan Wagner, a first-round pick in 2004 who has struggled the last two seasons.

Cincinnati's bullpen has dragged it down the last two months, giving up the most homers in the majors. The Reds came out of the All-Star break at 45-44, trailing St. Louis by four games in the NL Central and in the middle of the wild-card race.

Cincinnati has had five consecutive losing seasons, its deepest slump in 50 years. To stay in contention -- and above .500 -- the Reds have been trying to overhaul a bullpen that has ranked last in the NL much of the season.

Majewski, a 26-year-old righty, was 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 46 games. He led the Nationals with 79 appearances last season and had a 2.93 ERA.

Bray, a 23-year-old lefty, was the 13th overall pick in the June 2004 draft and was considered one of the Nationals' top pitching prospects. He was 1-1 with a 3.91 ERA in 19 relief appearances this season, his first in the majors.

The 26-year-old Kearns was hitting .274 with 16 homers and 50 RBIs. The right fielder was considered one of the team's building blocks under Bowden, who was fired midway through the 2003 season. They listened to offers from other teams over the winter, but decided to hold onto Kearns.

Lopez, 26, is hitting .268 with nine homers and 30 RBIs.

The Royals' descent

A charter flight carrying the Kansas City Royals to Detroit on Wednesday night had to return to the airport after an on-board indicator showed there was a pressurization problem on the aircraft.

Midwest Airlines spokeswoman Carol Skornicka said there was no change in cabin pressure and that the alert came from what appeared to be a faulty back-up system.

After returning to Kansas City International Airport, the plane sat on the tarmac for about two hours while mechanics checked the problem. They eventually determined the aircraft was safe to fly and the plane continued on its scheduled trip to Detroit, where the Royals began the second half of their season Thursday with a four-game series with the Tigers.

Thomas sues doctors

Oakland Athletics slugger Frank Thomas has sued two White Sox doctors, claiming their misdiagnosis of his broken foot in 2004 led to further injury and his eventual departure from the team.

Attorney Thomas Demetrio said the doctors misdiagnosed a fractured navicular bone in Thomas' left foot as a bruise and cleared him to continue playing, which led to a second broken bone in the foot last year.

-- The Associated Press