MLB Trade Rumors: Will the Milwaukee Brewers Deal J.J. Hardy or Corey Hart Now Or In The Off-season?

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel rites that Milwaukee Brewers' GM Doug Melvin wants to make a trade but is finding it difficult to match-up well with another team's wants.  With top prospects Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel unavailable, one naturally infers there are major league players on the current roster who are just keeping their positions warm until both players are ready for regular playing time.

At SS, J.J. Hardy is the obvious current Brewer blocking Escobar.  The more difficult question to answer is which Brewer is blocking Gamel.  Is it Prince Fielder at 1B?  I doubt that more than I doubt the presence of an honest politician.

How about Bill Hall at 3B?  Credible but one wonders whether Gamel has the defensive chops to play everyday.  My guess is the Brewers have not forgotten the Ryan Braun experience from 2007.

That leaves the outfield.  With Braun entrenched in leftfield and centerfield reserved for excellent fielding players, rightfield is the only place left.  Residing in RF is Corey Hart.

Is Corey Hart enough for the Brewers to get starting pitching help?  I definitely think so especially if you're talking about Jarrod Washburn types.  Entering his second year of arbitration eligibility offers the acquiring team control.   The escalation in salary is a concern, but that can be mitigated by acquiring an already "expensive" pitcher. 

In other trade news, the Chicago Cubs have reportedly acquired Colorado Rockies' utility cornerman Jeff Baker.  With the Cubs forced to play Jake Fox at 3B in hopes of some offense, Baker would be a defensive improvement.  While a play-off contender shouldn't be satisfied with that, it could signal 3B Aramis Ramirez may not be ready for longer than the fans have been lead to believe.