Francisco Rodriguez hurt his trade prospects after melting down in Philadelphia, blowing two save opportunities. Credit: Associated Press

In a perfect world, the Milwaukee Brewers would have had several prominent players in play as the trading deadline of 3 p.m. Tuesday approaches.

But, as all citizens of Brewer Nation know, this season has been quite imperfect, almost from the start. Accordingly, the Brewers were forced to focus on trading ace Zack Greinke and think about what might have been.

If not in contending position - and a 0-6 trip to Cincinnati and Philadelphia as well as an imploding bullpen nixed that notion - they originally hoped to get action on three starting pitchers who will be free agents after the season: Greinke, Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf. Starting pitchers usually bring the biggest returns at this time of year, so the potential was there for a cache of prospects.

Marcum came off the market, however, when elbow "tightness" in mid-June turned into a prolonged absence (there still is no projected date for his return). The Brewers aren't about to make a qualifying offer of about $12.5 million to assure draft-pick compensation in free agency, so Marcum - for whom the Brewers surrendered top prospect Brett Lawrie - likely will be gone with no return.

Wolf, though sabotaged frequently by the bullpen, hasn't pitched well enough (3-7, 5.45) to tempt teams to offer prospects in a trade. The Brewers have no intention of exercising his $10 million option for 2013 (there's a $1.5 million buyout), so Wolf also will depart without any return.

The Brewers also figured they'd be able to vigorously shop Francisco Rodriguez on the trade market, particularly after he took over as closer for John Axford earlier in the month. But "K-Rod" melted down completely in the three-game series in Philadelphia, blowing two saves and trashing his trade value. The San Francisco Giants, reportedly interested in Rodriguez beforehand, quickly looked elsewhere after that awful showing.

So, in what's already a disappointing season, the Brewers are destined to have a disappointing trading session as well, other than the return from the Los Angeles Angels on Greinke. That scenario will make it even tougher to plan for 2013 and beyond, if the club's brain trust has any hopes of contending rather than slipping into rebuilding mode.

There are so many questions that have to be answered for a team that was two victories shy of the World Series in 2011. It begins with the starting rotation, assuming Marcum and Wolf also will be gone, and not knowing how Chris Narveson will bounce back from rotator cuff surgery.

Jean Segura, acquired in the Greinke deal, might prove to be the shortstop of the future though some scouts think he profiles as a second baseman in the long run. But the Brewers need to figure out center field, where Nyjer Morgan has been a noncontributor and Carlos Gomez's history is that his production suffers with increased playing time.

Another question is what to do with Corey Hart? Do you return him to right field and give Mat Gamel a chance to come back from knee surgery? Or do you keep Hart at first and commit to Norichika Aoki in right field, knowing you won't get the power normally associated with that position?

The manner in which Melvin and Co. address these issues between now and opening day 2013 will determine whether this season is a one-year blip on the screen or the beginning of a longer skid.

Upon closer inspection

Here are scouting reports on the three minor-leaguers the Brewers received from the Angels for Greinke:

Segura: 5 feet 10 inches, 185 pounds, 22 years old. He has been injury-prone, missing time in 2009 with a broken finger and broken ankle and in 2011 with a torn hamstring. He has improved as a hitter with a short, explosive swing but is a free swinger with only 122 walks in 1,540 at-bats. Though somewhat thick-bodied he has been an above-average runner, with as many as 50 stolen bases in 2010 at Class A Cedar Rapids. He has a plus-arm, plenty good to play shortstop though he doesn't project to stay there because of average-at-best hands and problems with throwing accuracy. The Brewers are keeping him at short for now, but Melvin admitted he might have to move to second base at some point.

RHP Johnny Hellweg: 6-9, 210, 23 years old. Selected in the 16th round of the 2008 draft out of Florida College, Hellweg was extremely wild, walking 129 hitters in his first 122 innings, mostly as a reliever. He thrived after being moved to a starting role in Class A in 2011, posting a 2.12 ERA with better command. Hellweg also learned to take something off his fastball to spot it better, though he still throws regularly in the 94-97 mph range. He has a "slurve" for a breaking ball that is quite effective when thrown for strikes. Hellweg needs to work on his changeup and is still growing into his tall frame. His command has slipped at times this year (60 walks in 119 2/3 innings) at Class AA but he has the potential to be a top-half of the rotation pitcher.

RHP Ariel Pena: 6-3, 190, 23 years old. Signed at age 17 out of the Dominican Republic, Pena spent three years in the summer league there before spending most of the next two years in Class A ball. He has a plus-fastball, which gets up to 98 mph, and impressive slider and struck out a whopping 180 hitters in 152 innings at Class A Inland Empire in 2011 but also walked 81 batters. With a maximum-effort delivery, Pena is projected by some as a reliever. He has problems at times repeating his delivery, dragging his arm behind his body and leaving pitches up. His power stuff can overwhelm hitters at times. He cut his walk ratio to 3.31 per nine innings this year while still striking out nearly nine hitters every nine frames.

No relief in sight

Many folks have asked if this Brewers' bullpen is the worst in their history. No, it's not, but entering Saturday that relief corps ranked last in the National League with 25 losses and 19 blown saves. They were 15th with a .273 opponents batting average, 147 walks and a 1.54 WHIP (walks and hits per inning), and 14th with a 4.66 ERA.

The Brewers' 2011 bullpen, which included many of the same pitchers, blew only 19 saves all year and suffered only 23 losses. Its 3.32 ERA ranked fifth in the NL and opponents batted only .239, contributing to a solid 1.22 WHIP.

This bullpen is the Brewers' worst statistically since 2006, when their relievers ranked last with a 5.03 ERA, blew 24 saves, suffered 29 losses and had a 1.46 WHIP. The Brewers tried an assortment of dubious relievers that season, including the likes of Chris Demaria, Joe Winkelsas (who previously collected garbage in Buffalo), Chris Spurling, Chris Mabeus (what's with all the Chrises?), Geremi Gonzalez and Justin Lehr.

In the two ill-fated years of manager Ken Macha, the bullpen ranked 10th in 2009 with a 3.97 ERA and 12th in 2010 with a 4.48 ERA. In 2008, when the Brewers broke through to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, the bullpen ranked fourth in the NL with a 3.89 ERA, with 24 losses, 26 blown saves, a .249 opponents batting average and 1.39 WHIP.

Statistically, this Brewers' bullpen is worse than in 2002, when the team suffered a franchise-record 106 losses. That relief corps, which actually was the strength of a ballclub, ranked 11th in the NL with a 3.97 ERA and suffered only 22 losses and 10 blown saves.

Perseverance pays off

If you like feel-good stories about guys who stick to it and refuse to quit even in the toughest of times, we present to you Jim Henderson. After spending all or part of 10 years in the minor leagues, the 29-year-old reliever finally made it to the major leagues, making his debut Thursday night with a perfect inning against Washington.

Henderson's saga began in 2003, when the native of Calgary, Alberta, was taken in the 26th round of the draft out of Tennessee Wesleyan College. In December 2006, he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft of unprotected players.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander pitched very well at Class AA Tennessee (1.86 ERA, 10 saves in 42) in 2007, moving up to Class AAA Iowa in the final weeks of that season.

"That year, in '07, I felt was my best chance to be called up in September," said Henderson, "but it didn't happen."

Henderson, who pitched another scoreless inning Saturday night against Washington, suffered a major setback in 2008, missing most of the season, first with a herniated disc in his back and later with an ailing shoulder that required a "clean-out" procedure afterward. He was released by the Cubs the next spring and signed shortly afterward by the Brewers, mainly because they wanted an experienced reliever at low Class A Wisconsin.

Henderson was a bit old for the Midwest League but dominated for the Timber Rattlers, posting a 1.07 ERA and 17 saves in 26 outings. He was moved up to high Class A Brevard County for another successful stint (2.76 ERA in 15 outings) and later up to Class AA Huntsville for five appearances.

Henderson backtracked a bit after that, posting a 5.46 ERA in 45 appearances with Huntsville in 2010 while struggling with his command (35 walks in 61 innings). He split the 2011 season between Huntsville (2.64 ERA in 22 games) and Class AAA Nashville, where he again suffered control issues (5.93 ERA, 23 walks in 30 1/3 innings).

"I went out and tried to throw too hard, and it backfired on me," he said.

This season, however, everything clicked for Henderson at Nashville. In 35 appearances, he posted a 1.69 ERA while converting 15 of 16 save opportunities. In 48 innings, he allowed only 36 hits and 22 walks while logging 56 strikeouts. Opponents batted a mere .214 against him.

What allowed Henderson to get back on track?

"This year, I scrapped the windup and just went from the stretch, to be more consistent and work on one delivery," he said. "I tried to lift my arm angle a little bit to help my breaking ball."

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

MLB: New York Mets RHP Matt Harvey

How in the world would the Mets' pitching prospect live up to the hype in his first major-league start Thursday night against Arizona? By striking out 11 hitters over 5 1/3 scoreless as well as collecting hits in both of his at-bats. Harvey became the first pitcher in the modern era to debut with at least 10 strikeouts and two hits.

BREWERS: CF Carlos Gomez

Gomez hit three home runs over a four-game period, and in the game in which he didn't homer in Philly he still rounded the bases on a foul ball he thought was fair. His two-run homer represented the Brewers' only runs in an 8-2 loss Thursday to Washington.

WEEK AHEAD

Angels at Rangers: Monday-Thursday. Angels can close the gap.

Phillies at Nationals: Tuesday-Thursday. Can Phils get back in it?

Angels at White Sox: Friday-Sunday. Huge week for the Halos.

Pirates at Reds: Friday-Sunday. Big series atop NL Central.

BREWERS THIS WEEK

The Brewers finish their home stand with three games against the Houston Astros, or more accurately, the picked-over carcass of the Astros. Then, after an off-day Thursday, it's off to St. Louis for a series that won't have the meaning the Brewers envisioned earlier.

DID YOU KNOW?

When Kansas City's Alex Gordon homered in the first inning off former teammate Zack Greinke of Milwaukee on June 12, it snapped a drought of 150 at-bats without one. Entering Saturday, Gordon had gone another 171 at-bats without a homer since that one.

YOU FIGURE IT OUT

In his first eight starts this season, Cleveland right-hander Derek Lowe was 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA. Over his last 12 starts, he's 2-8 with a 7.59 ERA. He has more walks (43) than strikeouts (40) and 148 hits allowed in 116 2/3 innings.

"I've pitched worse than this in my career, believe it or not," he said. "I'm in a little funk right now. I've just got to keep plugging."

But, you have to ask, at 39, is Lowe finally at the end of the trail?

"We're human. The older we get, we're not as effective as we were at 27 or 28," said Indians manager Manny Acta. "It's about making adjustments and throwing strikes. I don't blame this on Derek's age. Nobody brought up his age in the first two months of the season when he was carrying our team."

QUOTABLE

"It must be true if it’s on the Internet."

Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster, when word circulated that he had been traded to the Braves, a deal he nixed

BREWERS MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT

Class AAA Nashville

2B Eric Farris took a season-best 10-game hitting streak into the weekend, during which he was batting .378 (14 for 37).

Class AA Huntsville

Entering Saturday, RHP Brandon Kintzler had not allowed an earned run over his last 12 relief outings. He had a 3.34 ERA in 25 appearances.

High Class A Brevard County

RHP Brandon Williamson, a 20th-round draft pick in 2011 out of Dallas Baptist, is 1-6 with an 8.91 ERA over his last eight starts. Overall, he is 2-8, 6.64 in 14 games (13 starts).

Low Class A Wisconsin

RHP Chad Pierce, a 38th-rounder in 2011 out of UW-Milwaukee, is on a roll. He pitched seven shutout innings Thursday against Kane County, allowing only three hits and striking out eight.

Rookie Helena

1B Adam Giacalone, a 16th-round pick in June out of Neosho County (Kan.) Community College, is batting .378 over his last 10 games with a .439 on-base percentage.

Rookie Arizona

OF Jose Pena, 19, continues to swing the bat well, batting .327 with nine doubles, six triples, three home runs, 24 RBI and a .982 OPS.

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