Brewers and trade deadline

As the trade deadline looms, JS' Tom Haudricourt reports that Doug Melvin is working the phones, even on off days, trying to see what the market is like.

Most fans are expecting the Brewers to be looking for a replacement short stop for Yuniesky Betancourt. Sometimes called the worst player in the majors, Yuni's poor defense has been much maligned this season. Add the struggles of Casey McGehee and some are calling the left side of the infield a "black hole."

While I'm not thrilled with Yuni either, I'm not sure we can expect or should want the Brewers out there searching for a new SS.

1. The field is THIN. Any trade we make would be a slight upgrade at best, meaning we'd have traded away prospects for minimal gain. Which leads me to:

2. We don't have the prospects to give away. The Brewers minor league system is not stocked. Trades for Shaun Marcum, Zach Greinke and now K-Rod have left the team with few true pieces left in the minors. The closer we get to the deadline (Sunday) the more expensive players get. After being decimated over the off-season, a few minor leaguers have started to make names for themselves. It would be a shame to trade them away for a SS upgrade.

3. It's not really that bad. I mean, it can be bad. But it's not the end of the world. Yes, Yuni has poor range. We knew that when he was included in the Greinke trade in December. Frankly, I'm more than a little sick of hearing about it game-in and game-out. Its not a surprise anymore, yet there are fans who are constantly acting like Yuni not getting to a ball on his right side (his weakest spot) is somehow shocking and they start a new tirade against him and Doug Melvin every time. It's overwrought and getting old. We've played 100 or so games - you'd think they'd have gotten used to it by now.