Fantasy owners that pounced quickly have been enjoying Shelley Duncan.

With the trade deadline rushing towards us fantasy owners better be playing very close attention to the players moving and how it might affect the players who stay behind. We have not seen that blockbuster deal sees Mark Teixeira become a Dodger or an Angel just yet, but I have no doubt a move that will blow our minds is coming. Anyone could be traded, major league GMs seem to have no limits this season. Jon Garland could be moving. Johnny Damon could be something (anything, please) other than a Yankee by Monday. The suddenly productive Jermaine Dye is attractive to a bunch of teams. In addition, do not believe for one instant that only the big market teams are making big moves. The Braves have been very involved in the Teixeira talks, offering quality prospects such as Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Matt Harrison, and Elvis Andrus. The San Diego Padres are making big moves and, in fact, it is the Padres and their moves that are the primary focus of this edition of In Focus.

After what seems like thousands of different trade rumors, the Padres finally moved right-handed set-up man Scott Linebrink. Unfortunately, they waited until the value of the impending free agent had almost completely evaporated – except in the eyes of Brewers general Manager Doug Melvin, that is. The Brew Crew gathered up a collection of prospects starting with senior editor Mark Haverty’s favorite right-handed starter, and No. 14 prospect overall in Haverty’s recent midseason prospect rankings for Sporting News, Will Inman, and also including left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher and yet another lefty in minor league starter Steve Garrison.  Despite the outrage of some of the Padres and their fans, the Padres are not giving up the pennant race.

Padres’ GM Kevin Towers, who has never been afraid to make an unpopular trade, believes that Joe Thatcher can join the major league bullpen right now and have a similar impact to the one Cla Meredith had in 2006. Thatcher began this season pitching for the Brewers’ Double-A Huntsville franchise, and he was 1-0 with 20 strikeouts and just 2 walks in 16 1/3 innings with a 0.55 earned run average before his promotion to Triple-A Nashville. At Nashville, the lefty had pitched 21 2/3 innings with a 2.08 earned run average while accumulating 33 strikeouts against just seven walks. If Thatcher is as talented as those numbers suggest, Towers may have made a great trade getting just Thatcher alone. Linebrink, despite a stellar reputation as a top-flight reliever, was going through a very tough season disguised by Petco Park’s huge dimensions. On the road this season, Linebrink has a 5.75 era in 20 1/3 innings and opposing batters are hitting .305 against him. Since the All-Star break, the righty has pitched 6.2 innings with a 10.80 earned run average – while that might not be a huge sample size, he certainly is not trending well.

With the Padres also getting Will Inman and Steve Garrison, there can be little doubt that the Padres will be on the winning end of this deal of a potential free agent. Inman was tearing up the Florida State League this season, going 4-3 with a 1.72 earned run average, after abusing the Sally League in 2006 with a 10-2 record and a 1.71 earned run average. He was not destroying Double-A at the same pace but the Brewers were not worried, and neither are the Padres. A move to Petco only makes Inman’s future that much brighter. As for Garrison, the 20-year-old pitcher was a tenth round selection in 2005. He will not overpower anyone, but he does have four quality pitches, and he should be major league material at some point.

The ability to control three talented pitchers for several years is extremely valuable especially when compared to the value of a slumping middle reliever who you have under control for just a couple of months. However, as great as I think the Linebrink trade was, it was not even the best move Kevin Towers made this week. On Friday, Towers sent 26 year-old reliever Leo Rosales to the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 27 year-old Scott Hairston. Hairston should already be a major league stud. Do not be fooled by the relatively weak stats Hairston has put up in his various stints in the majors. He has accumulated a little more than a year’s worth of stats in the last four years. He has suffered all kinds of bad luck, such as being injured at exactly the wrong time, underperforming at exactly the moment another player was blisteringly hot, and so forth.

The Padres made room for Hairston on the major league roster by releasing the veteran Russell Branyan. Hairston is in the majors to stay and the Padres are a perfect fit for him. He has huge lefty power and can play any outfield position (though it would need to be an emergency before you placed him in center), he can manage at second or third base where less than stellar defense would be more than compensated by with his big bat. What big bat? The one Hairston used to bat .322 in the minors with a .401 on-base percentage, .571 slugging percentage and 121 homers in 474 minor league games. With Marcus Giles unable to stay healthy, and Milton Bradley not much better at it, there should plenty of opportunity for Hairston to show his stuff. Fantasy owners should FAAB him right away if he is still available, especially if you can stash him away for next season. 

Towers also signed infielder Shea Hillenbrand to a minor league contract. Hillenbrand has a solid bat. He does not do anything for the sabermetrically-inclined, but it is near impossible to deny that he has a long record of success. Hillenbrand’s ability to play first or third base makes him an extremely solid player to have on the bench. He’ll spend a few days in the minors getting into playing shape again but expect him to be on the major league roster very soon.

Other Notable Transactions

If you had the good fortune to not only pick up Yankee infielder/outfielder Shelley Duncan but to also have him in your lineup last weekend, I am sure you have already been slapped for being an arrogant know-it-all. If Duncan continues to play well, he will definitely get at-bats as the designated hitter. For those wondering, the power Duncan displayed last week was no fluke. In 336 Triple-A at-bats this season, Duncan was batting .295/ .380/ .577 for a .957 OPS with 25 home runs. Yes, he is worth picking up.

The Orioles placed Chris Ray on the 15-day disabled list with a right ulnar collateral injury caused by bone spurs. He could be out of action for a long time. Right-handed setup man Danny Baez and lefty Jamie Walker will get most of the save opportunities despite the call-up of minor league closer Cory Doyne.

My fantasy team and yours no doubt will miss the production of second baseman Chase Utley, who had his hand broken by a pitch. He had a couple of at-bats and obviously played the field even with the injury but X-rays after the game revealed the break. He has already had minor surgery to install a pin. The Phillies claim that Utley will only miss three or four weeks with the injury, but they were taking no chances this week. On Friday, the Phillies sent minor league reliever Michael Dubee to the Chicago White Sox for second baseman Tadahito Iguchi. Iguchi is not having a great season, batting just .251/.340/.382 with six homers and eight stolen bases but should be a quality replacement via FAAB for those losing Utley this week.

For those losing the underachieving Iguchi in AL-Only leagues, look no further than the new Chicago second baseman, Danny Richar. Richar has not been in the system long, having come over from the Diamondbacks, and he hit .285 with eight homers and four swipes in his 66 games with the Tucson Sidewinders in the Triple-A PCL before the trade sending him to the White Sox. In 32 games since with Triple-A Charlotte, Richar was hitting .349 five home runs and four stolen bases. He is not an Utley just yet but he can definitely make you forget about the 2007 version of Tadahito Iguchi.

Finally, Kenny Lofton has come back to Cleveland! For the third time in his career, the former fantasy stud is an Indian. Expect him to get plenty of at-bats and to steal as many bases as his brittle old bones will still allow. Marlon Byrd becomes a full-time starter in Texas. Max Ramirez is a solid catching prospect but is years away from having a major league impact.

Jon is patiently waiting for the Yankees to make a huge move. You can help him kill time until then by e-mailing him at JonWilliams@SportsGrumblings.com