The question has been answered.

With their season in the toilet, the Padres will be sellers as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.

The Padres have already dealt pinch-hitter Tony Clark to the Diamondbacks for right-hander Evan Scribner, a 28th-round draft pick out of Central Connecticut State last season.

The 6-foot-3 Scribner has good numbers -- 2-4 with a 1.64 ERA at two minor league stops this season, including a 1.86 ERA in five appearances with Visalia.

The Padres assigned him to Single-A Lake Elsinore, and Scribner struck out the side in his debut with the Storm on Friday.

But the chances of Scribner making it to the big leagues are long.

A study by Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro showed that the odds of drafting an everyday major leaguer "decrease exponentially after the seventh or eighth pick of the first round." If Shapiro is correct, the Padres' theory of draft-and-develop, and trading veterans for prospects, has holes in it.

Still, the Padres have four tradeable players --- shortstop Khalil Greene, third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, right fielder Brian Giles and left-hander Randy Wolf.

The Red Sox and Dodgers are desperate for a shortstop.

And while the Padres have no one to replace Greene, if they could get shortstop Jed Lowrie and right-hander Justin Masterson in return from Boston, it would be a deal. Lowrie was a supplemental first-round pick in 2005 out of Stanford. Masterson was a second-round pick out of San Diego State in 2006.

The Red Sox could also use an outfielder, so maybe something big with Greene and Giles would work.

The Padres don't figure to deal with the Dodgers, an NL West rival. The Dodgers also don't appear to be a trade fit.

The Twins, Rangers and Phillies all could use a starting pitcher.

If the Twins, who could also use an outfielder, would part with 20-year-old catching prospect Wilson Ramos and shortstop Trevor Plouffe, the Padres might have a trade partner. Ramos has some pop.

Plouffe, a first-round pick in 2004, is hitting .218 in 29 games at Triple-A Rochester after being promoted from Double-A.

Shortstop Elvis Andrus from Venezuela is Texas' top prospect. He's hitting .291 with 39 RBIs and 37 stolen bases at Double-A Frisco. If the Padres could pry Andrus and catcher Taylor Teagarden, a third-round pick out of Texas in 2005, away from the Rangers for Wolf, it would seem to be a no-brainer.

The Phillies have two catching prospects -- Lou Marson, a fourth-round pick in 2004, and Jason Jaramillo, a second-round selection in 2005. Marson is at Double-A Reading and is the better prospect.

Jaramillo, who is solid, is at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If the Padres could get one of the catchers and Double-A shortstop Jason Donald, a third-round pick out of Arizona in 2006, that could be a deal.

The Pirates are looking to dump salary and might swap slugging outfielders Jason Bay or Xavier Nady for Kouzmanoff.

The Mets, who need an outfielder, are loaded with pitching prospects. It doesn't appear they would be a trade partner for Giles.

If the Padres don't make deals, they could let free agents like Wolf, Giles and Greg Maddux walk away after this season and stockpile draft picks.

As it stands today, the Padres are battling the Nationals for the No. 1 overall pick next year.

Fast start

Roberto Lopez (Rancho Bernardo/USC), a 25th-round draft pick of the Angels in June, has hit in all 29 games as a pro.

Playing first base for the Orem Owlz of the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League, Lopez's hitting streak is a franchise record.

He's hitting .430 (49-for-114) with a homer and 19 RBIs. No one else in the league is hitting above .369. Lopez hit .340 in 52 games for USC in the 2008 season.

Coaching roundup

< Phil Plantier (Poway), who played eight major-league seasons, is the hitting coach for West Tenn of the Double-A Southern League. West Tenn is a Seattle Mariners affiliate.

< Haas Pratt (Rancho Bernardo) retired as a player and was hired by the Oakland A's as the batting coach at Kane County of the Midwest League.

Padres notes

< Catcher Josh Bard moved his rehab from Lake Elsinore to Triple-A Portland and was 0-for-4 Friday night.

< Portland infielder Pete Ciofrone was 4-for-5 Friday against Colorado Springs to push his hitting streak to 15 games.

< Outfielder Paul McAnulty is hitting .550 (11-for-20) is six games since the Padres sent him to Portland.

< The Padres signed catcher David Parrish after he was released by Tulsa. A few hours after he signed with the Padres, Parrish changed uniforms and dugouts and played for San Antonio against Tulsa.

< Left-hander Cesar Carrillo, the 18th player taken in the 2005 draft, threw five shutout innings Friday night for Lake Elsinore, his best performance since undergoing Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery early last season.

< Right-handers Wynn Pelzer and Jeremy Hefner are putting up good numbers at Fort Wayne. Pelzer, a ninth-round pick out of South Carolina last season, is 8-4 with a 3.14 ERA. Hefner, a 10th-round pick out of Oral Roberts, is 7-3 with a 3.38 ERA. In 96 innings, he has walked 28 with 101 strikeouts.

< Eugene is the benefactor of this year's draft. Blake Tekotte and Sawyer Carroll, a pair of third-round picks, are hitting .318 and .323, respectively. Tekotte has played just six games, but Carroll has played 25 games and has four homers, seven doubles and three triples. Pitcher Anthony Bass, a fifth-round pick, is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA and two saves. He has 20 strikeouts in 17 innings. Rob Musgrave, a 14th-round pick, is 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA. In 19 1/3 innings, he has walked three with 27 strikeouts.

< Jaff Decker, the organization's second pick in the June draft, is off to a hot start. Playing in Peoria, where he was a star at Sunrise Mountain High, the outfielder is hitting .421 with a homer, six doubles and 13 RBIs after 16 games.

Around the bases

< Veteran left-hander Brian Mazone (San Dieguito) threw a scoreless inning for the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game in Louisville. Mazone, who is property of the Phillies, needed just seven pitches to throw a perfect frame with a strikeout. The Pacific Coast League rallied for six runs in the top of the ninth to win the game 6-5.

< Right-hander Wes Littleton (Vista) has pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings over his last six appearances for Oklahoma, the Triple-A affiliate of the Rangers.

< After a horrendous start, Xavier Scruggs (Poway/UNLV) has hit in nine of his last 10 games at Batavia in the Cardinals' system.

< Catcher Jon Talley (Carlsbad) has hit in six straight games and nine of his last 10 for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He's 10-for-22 in those six games and had back-to-back games of three RBIs and four RBIs against the Indians.

< Thomas Neal (Poway) has hit in eight of his last nine games for the Augusta Giants. He's 14-for-32 in that stretch with 10 RBIs and nine walks.

< Jeff Nettles (Torrey Pines) is second in the Double-A Eastern League with 18 home runs. His Orioles teammate Luis Montanez leads the league with 20 and teammate Nolan Reimold is third with 16.

< Matt Cerda (Oceanside) is 13-for-36 over his last nine games with the Arizona League Cubs, including a 3-for-6 day with two runs scored and an RBI against the Padres on Thursday.

Contact staff writer John Maffei at (760) 740-3547 or at jmaffei@nctimes.com. The minor-league report and the Tracking Local Players chart runs each Sunday through the end of the minor-league regular season.