Looking to beef up a late-innings relief corps that is tied for second in the majors with 19 blown saves, the Diamondbacks are close to sending starter Ian Kennedy to the Padres for lefty set-up man Joe Thatcher, according to CBSSports.com sources.
The Diamondbacks also would receive other players – likely two minor-leaguers – in the deal with Thatcher.
The Angels and another unidentified team or two also have been engaging the Diamondbacks in trade discussions for Kennedy, 28, who is in the midst of a rough season.
A 21-game winner in 2011, Kennedy is 3-8 with a 5.23 ERA in 21 starts for the Diamondbacks this season. He also has a 1.419 WHIP, the worst of his career for a full season.
Among the reasons he is attractive to the Padres is that he is controllable through 2015.
Thatcher, 31, is 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 50 games for the Padres this summer and has been a dependable bullpen piece for them since 2009.
Only the Cubs, with 22 blown saves, have coughed up more save opportunities than the Diamondbacks, who now stand 3 ½ games behind the scorching-hot Dodgers in the NL West.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/sc...in-trade-talks