The White Sox got Floyd as part of package for Freddy Garcia, who won just one game for the Phillies last season before shutting down with a shoulder injury and moving on.

Clearly, the White Sox got the better of the deal. But that's not the only recent deal that is helping the Sox.

This off-season, they acquired 25-year-old outfielder Carlos Quentin from Arizona for minor-league slugger Chris Carter, who in turn was shipped to Oakland. Quentin, a former first-round draft pick, had struggled with injuries and was slow putting it together in Arizona. He has hit his stride in Chicago, however.

Entering yesterday, Quentin was tied for the AL lead with eight homers, and he ranked in the top five in RBIs (25), on-base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.559) and runs (24).

Here's a look at some other off-season deals that are paying dividends for clubs.

Talk about a deal that's helping both clubs. In December, the Reds sent outfielder Josh Hamilton, 27, to the Rangers for pitcher Edinson Volquez, 24.

Entering yesterday, Hamilton was leading the majors with 37 RBIs, while Volquez led the National League with a 1.06 ERA and 52 strikeouts.

The Phillies are thrilled with the way their November deal with the Astros is working out. Brad Lidge is showing off his high-end stuff and dominating hitters. In his first 17 games, he allowed no runs and had nine saves.

Michael Bourn was the key piece for Houston. Entering yesterday, he was leading the NL with 16 steals, but he was hitting under .200 and struggling to get on base.

The Braves and Tigers opened the off-season with a trade that sent shortstop Edgar Renteria to Detroit for righthanded pitcher Jair Jurrjens and minor-league outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez.

Renteria is a five-time all-star, but he'll be 33 this summer. Jurrjens is 22, and he has gone 7-3 with a 3.60 ERA in his first 14 big-league starts. He has been a key addition to the Braves' rotation as they've dealt with injuries to Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Hernandez is just 20 and has top speed and gap-power potential. The Braves already like this deal and could end up loving it.

Minnesota centerfielder Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle against the White Sox on Wednesday, and Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters that Gomez "might be not too far away from people saying, 'Torii Hunter who?' "

Gomez was one of the players the Twins got from the Mets for Johan Santana. He's an exciting talent and at age 22 has sky's-the-limit potential.

But you still have to like what Santana, still just 29, brings to the Mets.

"I think they'll get a Cy Young or two out of the guy," one executive said.

One of the biggest deals to go down saw Florida send slugger Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for a package that included pitcher Andrew Miller and outfielder Cameron Maybin.

Ultimate judgment on the deal is years away, but both sides should benefit. Miller and Maybin both have big potential, and the Tigers should get many years of production from Cabrera.

With its pitching and productive young offense, Arizona has the makings of a postseason team. The Diamondbacks made a good acquisition by picking up starter Dan Haren from Oakland and pairing him with ace Brandon Webb. With Webb, Haren and a healthy Randy Johnson, the snakes will be tough to beat in a postseason series.

The A's made a nice haul in this deal. Lefties Dana Eveland and Greg Smith have already contributed to a rotation that led the AL in ERA entering yesterday. The A's also got a potential star in outfield prospect Carlos Gonzalez and a power-bat prospect in Carter. In addition, the A's got lefty Brett Anderson. He joined lefty Gio Gonzalez, who came from the White Sox for Nick Swisher, on the prospect list.

In desperate need of rebuilding, the Orioles traded two veterans, shortstop Miguel Tejada and lefty Erik Bedard, to Houston and Seattle, respectively.

Tejada and Bedard have both performed well with their new clubs, and the Orioles have added some nice pieces. Outfielders Luke Scott and Adam Jones are playing regularly in the majors and Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate and George Sherrill (12 saves) are contributing in the bullpen. Ultimately, the Orioles might have landed the top talent in the trade - 6-foot-5 righthander Chris Tillman, who is at double A.

On Baseball: TIGER TALES

The hard-throwing righthander had 35 wins and two top-seven finishes in the AL Cy Young voting the last two seasons. However, he is just 1-6 with a 6.43 ERA this season and has just 30 strikeouts (and 21 walks) in 49 innings.

There have been rumblings among scouts for several weeks that Verlander might be hurting.

Former Tigers great Jack Morris, a broadcaster with the Twins, added fuel to that speculation, telling the Detroit News: "There's something wrong with his shoulder. You can see it in the way he's throwing. I know, because I've been there with the bursitis I had."

Verlander says he's fine, and Tigers management says he just has a mechanical flaw in his delivery. It will be interesting to see how Verlander does Tuesday night when he faces Kansas City, a club he has dominated (3-0, 1.33 ERA) in four career starts.

On Baseball: STATS 'N' STUFF

He won 46 games for the Indians from 2004 to 2006, but struggled mightily in 2007 and ended up in triple A. He was left off the Indians' postseason roster and was barely talked about in spring training.

Lee won a job in the rotation and has been spectacular since. He is 6-0 with a major-league-best 0.81 ERA. He has not allowed a run in 302/3 innings on the road and hasn't walked a batter in his last 28 innings.

Since World War II, only three pitchers have won their first six starts and had a lower ERA than Lee. They were Fernando Valenzuela ('81 Dodgers), 0.33; Roger Clemens ('91 Red Sox), 0.73; and Pedro Martinez ('97 Expos), 0.79. All three went on to win the Cy Young.

Lee pitched seven shutout innings at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. If he keeps it up, he'll pitch in July at Yankee Stadium - in the All-Star Game.