By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Boston Red Sox moved to energize their lineup by acquiring hard-hitting Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians during a flurry of final-hour deals at Major League Baseball's trade deadline Friday.

Boston, whose slumping offense opened the way for the New York Yankees to overtake them for first place in the AL East, sent young hurler Justin Masterson and minor league pitchers Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price to the Indians.

Switch-hitting Martinez, who came up as a catcher and can also play first base, is batting .284 with 15 homers and 67 runs batted in this season.

The deadline saw other veterans change addresses, including injured Jake Peavy, third baseman Scott Rolen, lefty Jarrod Washburn and shortstop Orlando Cabrera as contending teams dealt young prospects to rebuilding clubs.

However, the biggest potential prize of the trade mart was not dealt as no one satisfied Toronto Blue Jays demands for ace starter Roy Halladay.

The busiest division was the tightly contested AL Central.

The Chicago White Sox, 2.5 games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers, acquired Peavy in exchange for left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard and minor league right-handers Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

Peavy, a twice All-Star and 2007 Cy Young Award winner as the National League's top pitcher, is on the disabled list with an ankle injury and is expected to be sidelined for at least another month.

Detroit added left-hander Washburn to their starting rotation by sending two young hurlers to the Seattle Mariners.

The 34-year-old Washburn, eligible for free agency at the end of the year, has an 8-6 record with a 2.64 ERA. The Mariners netted left-hander Luke French, 23, and 20-year-old minor leaguer Mauricio Robles.

BOLSTERED BENCH

The Minnesota Twins, two games off the pace, upgraded at shortstop by sending minor league shortstop Tyler Ladendorf to Oakland A's for 34-year-old Cabrera.

Cabrera was batting .280 with four homers and 41 RBIs.

Rolen, a five-times All-Star batting .320, was sent from the Blue Jays to the Cincinnati Reds for third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, reliever Josh Roenicke and a minor leaguer.

Boston's acquisition of Martinez triggered another trade as the Red Sox moved slugging first baseman Adam LaRoche, obtained last week from the Pittsburgh Pirates, to the Atlanta Braves for left-handed hitting first baseman Casey Kotchman.

The Yankees bolstered their bench by acquiring infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league catcher Chase Weems.

Teams may still make trades but now must pass players involved through waivers, meaning that other teams have the option of claiming those players at their prevailing salary.

(Editing by Steve Ginsburg; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)