Kuzul

With the deadline quickly approaching, fans are wondering just what their team is going to do. That is, if they haven’t made a move already.

There have been two big moves thus far and both have come in the American League’s Western Division. The Rangers acquired left-hander Cliff Lee from Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim acquired Dan Haren from Arizona late Sunday night.

As for the San Diego Padres, this is not the time to stand by and watch everyone else make moves to make their team better. It’s also not the time to make a lateral move that doesn’t make them any better than they are right now. If they want to wrap up their division, and do so in convincing fashion, then there’s a deal or two that they can make to put a pretty little bow on the NL West.

The Padres should be proud that they are still in first place at this point. Most thought they would be in last place in the division and be selling off multiple pieces to rebuild for the coming seasons.

Before the 2010 season even started, Newy Scruggs of NBC 5 in Dallas called the Padres “terrible” while broadcasting for 105.3 The Fan during spring training in Arizona. Seems that wasn’t exactly accurate.

Then, just last week during the Padres three game set with the Atlanta Braves, Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi decided to throw his own dart at the Padres, essentially calling them “pretenders.” No disrespect to Mr. Morosi, but this was the same guy that expected the Padres to trade Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell, and Chris Young at this year’s trade deadline.

So, with just a few days left before Saturday’s non-waiver trade deadline, general manager Jed Hoyer and the Padres’ front office continue to work on the best trades that are available to them.

There have been several names thrown out there, but there’s no telling if any of them have actually stuck. We could go down the list of guys like Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton, Miguel Tejada, and Jeremy Guthrie, Cleveland’s Jake Westbrook, Seattle’s Milton Bradley among others, that have been talked about.

One name the Padres, along with the Giants, Angels, Red Sox, and others were after, was Royals’ outfielder David DeJesus. But, thanks to an injury last week, he will miss significant time which takes him off the trade market.

Orioles’ right-hander Jeremy Guthrie made it known that he would love to pitch in San Diego after a game against the Padres earlier this season, but MLB.com’s Corey Brock shot that rumor down a few weeks ago.

So who does that leave? While I’m not of the opinion that the Padres can watch the deadline go by without so much as a single trade, 619 Sports out of San Diego, via Twitter , sees things a little differently.

Are the Padres good enough to win the NL West as they are?

Not in my opinion.

Sure, they hold a slim three game lead over the San Francisco Giants, but a three game lead is nothing in the major league.

The Padres need to add another arm to the rotation and possibly another player or two to their infield depth.

Orioles’ short stop Miguel Tejada has been mentioned more than once as a possible replacement for injured second baseman David Eckstein. The Padres need to bring in someone that can stem the tide until Eck returns to the lineup. A few sources out of San Diego believe that Tejada’s addition could move him to the outfield once Eckstein is ready to come off the disabled list.

It may be a temporary bandaid, but the Padres need more than that in their starting rotation.

They currently have Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, and Wade LeBlanc in the rotation, but they need another guy that can take the ball every fifth day and provide veteran leadership and ability. A guy you can count on to give you the best chance to win when the ball is put in his hands.

A few promising pitchers are the aforementioned Guthrie and Westbrook along with Arizona right-hander Edwin Jackson. I believe Houston right-hander Brett Myers would be the best fit, but he may not be dealt until the Astros figure out what they’re going to do with Roy Oswalt.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman weighed in on that exact topic via Twitter , saying that the Astros weren’t anxious to trade Myers. Heyman added that though the Astros may not be “anxious” to trade him, he thinks they eventually should.

Earlier today, a rumor surfaced that the Padres had acquired outfielder Jayson Werth from the Phillies. The Padres need another productive bat in the lineup and it was no secret that the team was looking for another outfielder.

The original rumor, reported by Jack Cronin of 1090 AM in San Diego, stated the Padres had sent “a couple of prospects” to the Phillies for Werth. I couldn’t see how the Phillies would take that little in return after all the reports that they were looking for high returns for the outfielder.

With just five days to go before the deadline, the rumors will be hot and heavy until the Padres actually make the moves they set out to make. They may be major moves or they may just be lateral moves, but the Padres can not let the deadline go by without so much as a whimper.

They need a proven starter and they need another bat in the lineup. Trades won’t stop after the July 31st trade deadline, but if the Padres want to sew up the NL West division before the end of July, they need to make the impact moves and do so now.

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As the trade deadline approaches, Minnesota Twins fans are hoping the team adds another arm to the rotation to help push the Twins to an AL Central division title and beyond.

It was about this time last year when the Twins added Carl Pavano to the rotation. Pavano has emerged as the ace of the rotation with a 12-6 record and 3.26 ERA.

The Twins, typically bargain shoppers, don’t appear to be in the sweepstakes for Roy Oswalt, Ted Lilly, or Dan Haren, the most mentioned pitchers in current trade rumors.

Looking to the rosters of potential sellers, here’s a list of the top candidates that the Twins should consider.

The criteria used to rank these pitchers included salary, contract situation, and 2010 performance.

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With the Houston Astros 14 games out of first place in the NL Central, everyone has been talking about Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman as the Astros’ most desirable trade chips.

However, nobody is talking about Brett Myers, who is having a pretty solid season in Houston.

Only on a one-year deal, Myers could be a good acquisition for a team looking for a No. 3 or 4 starter heading down the stretch.

Let’s look at the pros, the cons, and the teams that might be interested in the 29-year-old from Jacksonville, FL.

Pros

Myers has improved across the board from 2009 to 2010 for the Astros. Did you know Myers is the only pitcher in baseball to pitch at least six innings in every start this season? Not only is Myers pitching deep into games, but he is giving the Astros quality innings as well.

Myers has a 3.55 ERA and has lowered his WHIP (1.37 to 1.28), H/9 (9.4 to 8.8), and perhaps most importantly, his HR/9 (2.3 to 0.8). I think there are two reasons for his decreased HR rate.

1. Myers is inducing more ground balls than he did last year. Myers has a ground-ball rate of 49 percent this year.

2. Myers is getting hitters to hit the ball up the middle, which is the biggest area in all ballparks. Forty-eight percent of all balls hit against Myers this year have been up the middle.

Myers is also on a very affordable one-year, $3.1 million contract. He does have an option for 2011, but it is a mutual option with a $2 million buyout.

Cons

When you look at Myers’ home and road splits, you have to wonder if Myers has just fallen in love with the pitcher’s mound at Minute Maid Park. Myers is 5-0 with a 2.48 ERA at home and is 2-6 with a 4.14 ERA on the road.

How is Myers going to fare down the stretch when he won’t be pitching at Minute Maid Park? That is something for GMs to consider.

Something else for GMs to consider is that at the end of the day we are talking about Brett Myers. At best, he is a No. 3 or 4 starter on a contending team. Teams tend to overpay for starting pitching at the trade deadline, and overpaying for Myers could cost a GM in the future.

Now that we have looked at the pros and cons of acquiring Myers, let’s look at the teams who might be interested in the former Philadelphia Philly…

New York Mets

The Mets need someone they can slide in after Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey, and Myers could be that guy. A big outfield like Citi Field has could suit Myers well.

San Diego Padres

The Padres just placed Mat Latos on the DL, and Kevin Correia is having a less than stellar season. Myers could be a solid fill-in down the stretch for the Padres. Like at Citi Field, Myers could benefit from pitching in spacious PETCO Park.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers could certainly use another starting pitcher, as Chad Billingsley and John Ely have struggled throughout the season. Of course, the question with the Dodgers is can they add payroll?

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers definitely need another starter, but I am not sure how well Myers would adjust to the American League. I would be hesitant to trade for a guy who has pitched in the NL his whole career if I was an AL GM.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

We sit just two weeks in front of the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, which occurs on July 31. Already, we have seen one ace (Cliff Lee) get dealt to a new team, and there are several more arms that could be traded before 4:00 pm on the 31st.

And tonight, all of those pitchers are on the mound for their current teams. Could this be the last starts for their respective clubs? Will these starts act as auditions? Only time will tell.

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The Texas Rangers made, arguably, one of the biggest trades in franchise history for a guy that was called the “biggest impact pitcher” since Nolan Ryan wore a Rangers’ uniform.

Rangers’ general manager Jon Daniels decided that first baseman Justin Smoak was expendable, and was able to sneak in under the radar and bring Cliff Lee to the Rangers.

But, just when it seemed like the Rangers could be done dealing, there are rumors and rumblings to the contrary.

While Chris Davis will be their starting first baseman of the future, at least for now, it wouldn’t hurt for Daniels to go out and land another player that could spell Davis at first and not lose much offensively.

If you’re asking for my opinion, the Rangers’ bullpen still needs a lot of work, as does their rotation.

Sure Neftali Feliz gives the team a lockdown closer, Darren Oliver and Darren O’Day have had better than expected years, but besides that they don’t have another pitcher that makes teams fear the late innings.

So, here are my list of players that the Rangers should look at as well as explaining what they would bring to the team. The team isn’t done dealing, they still have moves to be made, these are just a few players they should or could look at.

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