Brewers Lose Another Series; Trade Looming?

The Milwaukee Brewers dropped Sunday's finale against the Atlanta Braves 10-2. In the month of July, the Brewers have failed to win a series in six tries and have an overall record of 7-14.

However, help could be on the way. Melvin and Brewers' manager Ken Macha have hinted at a potential trade that could be on the way.

Brewers.com writer Adam McCalvy hinted at a list of names that the Brewers are in on. Apart from Halladay, Lee, Garland, and Davis, there are several new names that are on the list.

The most intriguing name to me is Justin Duchscherer. Duchscherer, 31, has been sidelined the entire year after undergoing elbow surgery in March. Duchscherer is scheduled to make a rehab start tonight, and Jeff Fletcher for AOL baseball has confirmed Brewers' scouts will be in attendance.

The biggest question with Duchscherer is his health. If he comes back strong, he has the ability to pitch near the quality of a Halladay/Lee. The best thing about this trade for the Brewers would be how little the Brewers would have to give up. With all of the uncertainties that go along with Duchscherer, it is not out of the question that the Brewers may not have to part ways with any of Gamel, Escobar, or Parra.

The others listed are Seattle's Jarrod Washburn and Kansas City's Brian Bannister.

Washburn, 34, is from La Crosse and pitched collegiately at UW-Oshkosh, so he would go over well with the hometown fans. He has pitched well this season with a 2.71 ERA in 126 innings with 78 strikeouts and just 30 walks. The main question is with he keep it up? Prior to this season, Washburn was coming of three straight seasons where he struggled with walks and low strikeout totals. Over those seasons, he posted a 4.6 ERA in a pitcher friendly park.

Bannister, 28, is also coming off an injury and hasn't pitched at the major league level this season. His stuff is not that great and does tend to walk a high rate of batters. Although the youngest of the players mentioned, he seems to be the least effective. It doesn't seem like a trade for Bannister would put the Brewers over the top.

Stay tuned for more updates.