In the surest sign yet Oakland is not giving up on this season, the Athletics complete a blockbuster three-way deal that nets Kansas City's Jermaine Dye on Wednesday.

The deal involves Oakland, Kansas City and Colorado. Dye goes to Oakland, Rockies shortstop Neifi Perez winds up in Kansas City, and second baseman Jose Ortiz and outfielder Mario Encarnacion will head to Colorado with minor league left-handed pitcher Todd Belitz.

Jermaine Dye is confident he can help the A's get to the postseason. (AP)

Oakland ownership killed a proposed four-team deal last July that would have sent, among others, Cincinnati pitcher Scott Williamson to Oakland. Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann, the Athletics' ownership tandem, are walking a fine financial line and continue to watch every penny as they struggle to keep their window of opportunity open.

Still, the three-way deal -- which is the second involving Oakland general manager Billy Beane and Kansas City GM Allard Baird in seven months -- is an indication the A's almost certainly will not be dealing first baseman and team leader Jason Giambi this week. It also indicates they won't be dealing center fielder and leadoff man Johnny Damon before Tuesday's non-waiver trading deadline.

After weeks of will-they-or-won't-they regarding potential trades of Giambi and Damon, the A's climbed back to within four games of the American League wild-card playoff spot after Tuesday night's victory. Beane believed this spring the A's had the talent to advance to the World Series and, even given Seattle's scorching-hot season, there's no reason to believe any differently now given how well the A's have played since the All-Star break.

Dye, batting .272 with 13 homers and 47 RBI after Tuesday night's game in Seattle, gives the A's some added offense they've been missing ever since designated hitter John Jaha couldn't make it back from injuries this season. Dye presumably will play right field for Oakland, with Jeremy Giambi, Jason's brother, moving to designated hitter. Damon will remain in center field with Ron Gant and Terrence Long playing left.

Perez is arbitration-eligible and is expected to command a salary of about $5 million in 2001. The Rockies, of course, would have no financial concerns in that Ortiz, Belitz and Encarnacion are developing prospects who come cheaply and are at least two or three years away from arbitration.

Perez, batting .298 with seven homers and 47 RBI, is eligible for free agency following the 2002 season. However, Rey Sanchez, the Royals' current shortstop, is eligible for free agency this winter.

Now the Royals obviously will be in the market to deal away Sanchez between now and Tuesday. Atlanta and Los Angeles are among the teams looking for middle infield help, although the Braves have been pleasantly surprised by the play of rookie shortstop Mark DeRosa following the season-ending injury to Rafael Furcal.

"We figured we had a few weeks to see if (DeRosa's) OK with it,'' an Atlanta source said Tuesday. "He's not a name guy, but he's steady.''

The Rockies have been high on Ortiz, who opened the season as Oakland's second baseman before losing the job while he was injured for quite some time. Colorado, which traded second baseman Todd Walker to Cincinnati for outfielder Alex Ochoa last week, is in the midst of what is expected to be another flurry of personnel moves under proactive GM Dan O'Dowd given the Rockies' disappointing season. Perez and pitcher Pedro Astacio are the Rockies' two biggest chips.

Beane and Baird are no strangers to deals such as this. They were two of the GMs -- along with Tampa Bay's Chuck LaMar -- who engineered the trade that brought Damon to Oakland in January. That deal sent, among others, outfielder Ben Grieve to Tampa Bay and closer Roberto Hernandez to Kansas City.

Whether this season ends with another playoff appearance or with a lost opportunity for Oakland, the ramifications of this deal could reverberate into the winter for the A's. If they cannot re-sign Giambi -- and that remains problematical -- the acquisition of Dye could mean the A's will make a serious attempt instead to keep Damon, who also is eligible for free agency this winter.

Damon has openly wondered what incentive there would be for him to re-sign in Oakland if Giambi leaves, and Oakland might have just provided him with one: Damon and Dye became close friends during their time together in Kansas City. They no doubt will be thrilled to be reunited with a team that has a lot more potential for reward than last year's Royals did.