The Padres have signed 31-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Nick Green to a minor league deal. Green has played in 14 games with the Blue Jays & Dodgers this year and he is 3 of 21 (.143 avg, .360 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Green has now played in 392 games in his major league career and he is 237 of 1,000 (.237 avg, .653 OPS) with 142 runs scored, 16 homers, 96 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. This was a good move for the Padres as it never hurts to stash a guy like Green in AAA.

The Padres have placed 35-year old righty swinging shortstop David Eckstein on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain. Eckstein has played in 78 games for the Padres this year and he is 86 of 308 (.279 avg, .680 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Padres will use Jerry Hairston at 2B until Eckstein returns to action. Hairston has played in 84 games for the Padres so far this year and he is 75 of 299 (.251 avg, .668 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 7 homers, 35 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Hairston should do a solid job while Eckstein is out of action. 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Will Venable is be activated off the D.L. to replace Eckstein on the active roster. Venable has played in 69 games for the Padres this year and he is 51 of 214 (.238 avg, .730 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 8 homers, 32 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

The number 1 need of the Padres is to add offense and that’s exactly what I would go after. The Royals are really trying to unload outfielder Jose Guillen. I would try to get the Royals to agree to pay the rest of Guillen’s salary and for that I would send them 24-year old righty reliever Ernesto Frieri and 27-year old righty reliever Adam Russell. The Cubs are desperate to trade outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. With that in mind I would get Cubs to pay Fukudome’s salary and for that I would deal them 25-year old switch hitting shortstop Lance Zawadzki. I would try to trade up for a lefty reliever dealing 26-year old lefty Cesar Ramos to the A’s for lefty Jeremy Blevins. The Padres could also use a veteran infielder for the bench and Ronny Cedeno of the Pirates fits that mold. I’m pretty sure the Pirates would take back 25-year old righty swinging 2B Matt Antonelli for him. I think adding Guillen, Fukudome, Cedeno and Blevins would make the Padres a lot more dangerous in the N.L. than they already are.

The Padres have signed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal. He last played in the majors in 2008 with the Nationals. Pena has played in 560 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 402 of 1,590 (.253 avg, .753 OPS) with 196 runs scored, 77 homers and 225 RBIs. He is a free swinger however as he has whiffed 520 times as a major leaguer. This was a solid low risk/high reward signing for the Padres.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Simon Castro came into this season as the Padres’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why this year in the minors. Castro has pitched in 17 games (16 starts) in AA-ball this year and he is 5-3 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has only given up 73 hits in 90 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 78 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. Teams are going to be asking for Castro when the Padres go looking for a big bat in the next couple of weeks and they should just say no.