Brewers near deal for Giants' Durham

Brewers near deal for Giants' Durham
GM Melvin unavailable for comment; trade may set up platoon
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Brewers and Giants were poised Sunday morning to complete a trade that would send second baseman Ray Durham to Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Giants would get a package of players including fleet-footed outfielder Darren Ford from Class A Brevard County and Triple-A Nashville left-hander Steve Hammond.

According to a club source, Giants left-hander Jack Taschner, a Milwaukee-area native who has been linked to the Brewers in trade rumors, is not involved in the trade.

Durham was not on the field with the Giants when they stretched at about 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday but arrived shortly thereafter. He declined comment to The Associated Press, which reported that a Brewers athletic trainer was seen leaving the Giants clubhouse. That likely was head trainer Roger Caplinger, who was not on the field with the Brewers during their batting-practice time slot.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin is in San Francisco for the three-game series between the Brewers and Giants but was not available early Sunday to comment on reports that the deal was complete. He did not make his usual appearance in the dugout during batting practice.

Durham, 36 and a switch-hitter, is hitting .293 this season with a .385 on-base percentage and could be worked into a second-base platoon with Rickie Weeks, who hit a go-ahead two-run single in Saturday's Brewers win but was batting .218 with a .322 on-base percentage.

Durham, who is the final season of a two-year, $14.5 million contract that will pay roughly $3 million for the remainder of 2008, would have to OK any trade. He did not play in either of the first two games of the weekend series against the Brewers at AT&T Park. The Giants said he had the flu.

The Brewers were aiming for a three-game sweep of the Giants on Sunday before traveling to St. Louis for a key four-game series that begins Monday night.

Ford was pulled from the Brevard County lineup Saturday in anticipation of the trade and is hitting .230 this year but had 48 stolen bases in 59 attempts. The Brewers selected him in the 18th round of the 2004 Draft.

Hammond is a soft-tosser who started the season at Double-A Huntsville and has struggled since a promotion to Triple-A. He is 0-4 with a 7.41 ERA in four starts since the move and 7-8 with a 4.09 ERA in 19 starts at both levels this season.