The latest pitcher to be mentioned alongside the starter-hungry Brewers is right-hander Kevin Correia of the Padres, who would be a step down from the other players linked to Milwaukee (Roy Halladay, Jarrod Washburn among them) but at least could help plug some holes.

Correia is 7-8 with a 4.75 ERA and would come cheaply, according to the FOXSports.com blog item that mentioned the Brewers as one of the interested teams. No deal is imminent, the report said.

The Brewers’ rotation is a bit of a mess, with Dave Bush (triceps) on the disabled list and Jeff Suppan (oblique) in limbo for his Saturday start ahead of a Thursday appointment with the doctor. The Brewers have already tried Seth McClung and Mike Burns as in-house replacements before sending them back to the bullpen (now McClung is on the DL with an elbow injury). The team will give another reliever, Carlos Villanueva, one more chance to start on Sunday in San Diego.

As I reported earlier this week, Brewers GM Doug Melvin will be on the team’s chartered flight to San Diego this afternoon, meaning he’ll be out of contact with Trade Deadline buzz for a few hours but will be back in the pocket for the final hours on Friday. The deadline to move players without exposing them to waivers is July 31 at 4 p.m. ET. 

— Adam McCalvy