CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox added some offense for the postseason chase today by acquiring outfielder Dante Bichette from the Cincinnati Reds.

Bichette agreed to give up a no-trade clause in his contract and was shipped to the Red Sox for minor league pitchers Chris Reitsma and John Curtice.

Today is the final day that players can switch clubs and still be eligible for postseason play. The Red Sox are five games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East and 1 1/2 games in back of Cleveland in the wild card race.

"The Red Sox are pleased to acquire Dante Bichette, a proven veteran RBI man with excellent offensive career numbers," Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette said. "We are looking forward to having him on the ballclub to contribute down the stretch now and also to help us next season."

Boston also acquired former Red Sox outfielder Midre Cummings from Minnesota for minor league infielder Hector De Los Santos.

"Midre is one of the best pinch hitters in the American League and we believe that he will be a good complement to our club, especially at this time of year," Duquette said.

The 36-year-old Bichette joins his third team in less than a year. The Reds acquired Bichette from the Colorado Rockies last November for outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds and reliever Stan Belinda.

The Reds trail St. Louis by 8 1/2 games in the National League Central and the trade saves some money for the cost-conscious club. Bichette is in the second year of a three-year deal that pays him $7 million this season.

Moving away from hitter-friendly Coors Field, Bichette hit .295 for the Reds but had just 16 homers and 76 RBI. Bichette drove in at least 118 runs in each of his five seasons in Colorado and hit 34 homers in 1999.

The four-time All-Star could easily regain his power stroke in Boston at Fenway Park, where the "Green Monster" in left field is a welcome site for righthanded hitters such as Bichette. He is a career .366 hitter at Fenway Park.

Bichette likely would be part of a platoon in right field with Trot Nixon and also be used as a designated hitter.

Bichette hit at least .300 for six straight seasons before finishing at .298 in 1999. In 1995, he finished second to Cincinnati's Barry Larkin in the voting for NL Most Valuable Player. Bichette also has played for California and Milwaukee and is a lifetime .300 hitter with 255 homers and 1,078 RBI.

Cummings, 28, currently leads the AL with 11 hits and 10 in 33 pinch at-bats. In 67 games with Boston in 1998, Cummings hit .283 with five homers and 15 RBI.

Reitsma, a 22-year-old righthander, is 7-2 with a 2.58 ERA at Trenton of the Class AA Eastern League.

Curtice, a 20-year-old lefthander, is 4-10 with a 6.48 ERA at Sarasota of the Florida State League. He was a 1997 first-round pick of the Red Sox.

De Los Santos played in 46 games for the Gulf Coast Red Sox and hit .295 with one homer and 11 RBI.