Aggressive Mets add two starters

The New York Mets made two big moves a day before baseball’s trade deadline, getting pitchers Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano on Friday while other contenders angled for the likes of Randy Johnson, Larry Walker and Steve Finley.

“It’s kind of a relief just to get it over with. It’s been a tough day,” Benson said after Pittsburgh sent him to the Mets. “If there was a team I’d be excited to go to, it would be them.”

Los Angeles and Florida completed a six-player trade late Friday, a night before today’s 1 p.m. deadline for deals without waivers. The Dodgers sent catcher Paul Lo Duca, reliever Guillermo Mota and outfielder Juan Encarnacion to the Marlins for pitcher Brad Penny, first baseman Hee Seop Choi and minor league left-hander Bill Murphy.

Catcher Charles Johnson also could be headed to Los Angeles — a deal that would send him from Colorado to the Dodgers was being held up while he decides if he wants to waive his no-trade clause.

Finley could go from Arizona to a West Coast club, although the main focus on the Diamondbacks involved Randy Johnson.

The Yankees desperately want the Big Unit, but did not seem to have the right package of prospects to get him — and Arizona did not appear inclined to trade him to New York. Anaheim, Los Angeles and maybe even San Francisco also are interested in the five-time Cy Young winner.

With trade talk picking up, Johnson pitched Friday night for last-place Arizona and lost 4-1 at Colorado.

With closer Billy Wagner on the disabled list, Philadelphia bolstered its bullpen by acquiring two relievers: Felix Rodriguez from San Francisco and Todd Jones from Cincinnati. The Phillies sent outfielder Ricky Ledee to the Giants, giving them a left-handed hitter to help Barry Bonds.

Utilityman and pinch-hitter Dave Hansen rejoined the San Diego Padres, who got him from Seattle for minor league pitcher Jon Huber. San Diego had traded Hansen to Seattle in an offseason deal.

The Marlins added two solid hitters in Lo Duca and Encarnacion.

Penny should help strengthen the Dodgers’ starting rotation, which entered play Friday ranked sixth in the N.L. with a 3.92 ERA.

Tampa Bay sent Zambrano and minor league pitcher Bartolome Fortunato to the Mets for their best pitching prospect — Scott Kazmir — and minor league pitcher Jose Diaz.

For Benson, eligible for free agency after this season, and minor league infielder Jeff Keppinger, the Mets traded infielder Ty Wigginton, highly touted minor league pitcher Matt Peterson and infielder Jose Bautista to the Pirates. The Mets got Bautista earlier in the day from Kansas City for minor league catcher Justin Huber.

Benson, 29, is 8-8 with a 4.22 earned-run average.

Giambi diagnosed with benign tumor

Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi has been diagnosed with a benign tumor, but is expected to return to the team later this season after undergoing treatment.

The Yankees announced that Giambi was placed on the 15-day disabled list and will be treated immediately. The team, citing privacy issues, declined to divulge where the tumor is or what type of treatment Giambi will undergo.

Yankees manager Joe Torre said he didn’t believe surgery would be necessary.

“I’m just glad that with the news, even though there’s something going on, he can be treated and recover completely,” Torre said after the Yankees beat Baltimore 2-1.

Giambi, a former A.L. most valuable player, is batting only .221 with 11 home runs and 36 runs batted in. He’s been feeling fatigued all season, and was diagnosed with a parasite on June 29.

He tried to play through it, but began to feel increasingly weaker.

Giambi underwent a battery of tests at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center earlier this week to determine what has ailed him.

Man dies after falling off escalator at Miller Park

A 48-year-old Madison, Wis., man died Friday from injuries he received a day earlier, when he fell 17 feet from an escalator at Miller Park.

Milwaukee County Sheriffs Department spokesperson Kim Brooks said James A. Kolata fell Thursday while at the stadium for a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs.

The man was sitting on the escalator handrail while going from the field level to the second level when he fell, she said.

He was taken to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, where he died at about 5 p.m. Friday. An autopsy is planned for today.

The man had traveled to Milwaukee with a bus group and fell while he was on the escalator in the right field corner of the stadium about 1:15 p.m., shortly after the game began, Brooks said.

It was not known if alcohol were a contributing factor in the accident, she said.

“We’re investigating all aspects right now,” she said.

Last month, a man at Miller Park sustained a head injury when he fell while trying to slide down an escalator handrail during a game between the Minnesota Twins and the Brewers.