At the July 31st non-waiver trading deadline, the Cubs seemed destined to finish the season with all of their pending free agents still on the team. Fortunately, GM Jim Hendry began making moves in August, and then yesterday he managed to trade Bill Mueller and cash to San Francisco for Jeff Verplancke, even though the Giants will not be allowed to use Mueller in the playoffs if they reach the postseason. Reportedly Hendry even initiated the talks that led to the deal.

The Giants drafted Verplancke out of Cal State Los Angeles in the 11th round of the 1999 draft. Verplancke worked as a starter at A+ San Jose in the California League in 2000, but moved to relief last year, spending most of the season at AA Shreveport in the Texas League before a promotion to AAA Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. San Francisco sent him to the Arizona Fall League after last season, and then returned him to Fresno this year, where the 24-year-old compiled a 52:25 K:BB with 60 H and 6 HR allowed in 64.1 IP for a 3.78 ERA. He should break camp in the Cubs' major league pen next season and could eventually develop into a high-quality setup man.

While the Cubs still feel inclined to attempt to re-sign Mueller, this trade won't interfere with their off-season options and allows them to add to the team for next year, as they aren't even close to reaching their goal of consecutive .500 seasons. Of course, Chicago shouldn't even be allowed to think about bringing Mueller back, as Bobby Hill will need the second base playing time and Mark Bellhorn has certainly earned a starting job this season, leaving third base as the most logical place for him to play as long as Chicago insists on starting Alex Gonzalez at short.

Luckily, Mueller seems aware that while he enjoyed his time in Chicago and the Cubs might want him back, other teams have more use for a third baseman. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com quoted Mueller as saying, "I think they have a great crop of people here who need an opportunity to play." "I think it's good for Bobby Hill and Mark Bellhorn and Hee Seop Choi, I'm really excited for those guys. For those guys to become a Major Leaguer and get time to play, they won't be bounced around, they'll be a fixture there. It's great to be out here to play and I hope they can experience that." "I'll sit back and look at what's in front of me and where people need third basemen and make a decision then."

As for the Giants, while they won't be able to use Bill Mueller in the playoffs, right now they need to focus on making it even that far. Also, as he won't have a starting role, his absence in the postseason shouldn't be a huge issue. Mueller will simply make their already solid expanded September roster considerably stronger by adding a pinch-hitter and reserve corner man. The Giants also could consider moving Kent to 1B and David Bell to 2B against lefties, allowing Mueller to essentially replace J.T. Snow/Damon Minor for those games. Verplancke has nice upside but shouldn't be overly missed by the Giants.

In addition to Bill Mueller, San Francisco has added nine players to their roster so far this September, including RHP Manny Aybar, RHP Kurt Ainsworth, OF-L Marvin Benard, LHP Troy Brohawn, UT-R Shawon Dunston, LHP Aaron Fultz, C-R Trey Lunsford, RHP Joe Nathan, SS-R Cody Ransom, and OF-L Tony Torcato.

Aybar was with the Giants for the first half of August, but the team placed him on the DL with a strained hip flexor in order to make room for the return of Jay Witasick from the disabled list in mid-August. The 30-year-old should provide San Francisco with another strong middle relief option this month. As he was on the disabled list on August 31st, San Francisco could put him on a playoff roster, but unless several pitchers are injured this month they likely won't.

A significant contributing factor to the Giants' position in the NL Wild Card race is the fact that their rotation has been sufficiently effective and healthy, so that Kurt Ainsworth in AAA since his late April demotion. Ainsworth deserved to start in the majors this year and instead was relegated to AAA where he again put up quality numbers, including a 119:43 K:BB with 101 H and 7 HR allowed in 116 IP for a 3.41 ERA. Next season Jerome Williams and Jesse Foppert will also deserve rotation spots, giving the Giants overflowing pitching depth, so they should certainly deal a couple of their older starters for young position players this off-season. Meanwhile, Ainsworth should provide them with strong relief this month and an excellent spot starter if needed.

Benard tore cartilage in his left knee in early July and has been on the DL since that time. Reportedly, his knee has not fully healed, so while he'll provide them with a left-handed bat off the bench in a pinch, they will need to run for him and he won't be able to play the field. His injury limitations exclude him from playoff participation.

Brohawn wasn't overly effective during the month he spent with the team earlier this season, so I don't expect he'll pitch frequently in September. However, he does provide them with another acceptable lefty reliever.

San Francisco placed Dunston on the disabled list in mid-August with a hip pointer and a sprained thumb, allowing them to avoid demoting a player in order to make room for the activation of Tsuyoshi Shinjo from the disabled list. Shinjo has had no further trouble with his hamstring. Dunston has reportedly fully recovered from his injuries and will work as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter for the Giants. He too is eligible for the playoff roster but likely won't participate in the postseason unless someone else is injured.

Fultz's lack of effectiveness this season caused the Giants considerable consternation, so they won't be eager to use him frequently this month. Nevertheless, there's little reason not to call him up to have another left-handed arm in the pen.

The Giants drafted Lunsford out of Texas Tech in the 33rd round of the 2000 draft. Prior to 2002, Lunsford had not played above A Hagerstown in the South Atlantic League. However for no readily apparent reason, San Francisco promoted him to first to AA Shreveport and then to AAA Fresno after initially placing him at A+ San Jose. The 23-year-old must have excellent defensive skills, as he's not demonstrated particularly good offensive skills during his hurried advance through the system. I'm completely baffled by San Francisco's treatment of this player and would welcome any insight readers might provide. Now that he's in the majors, I presume the Giants will treat him as their emergency catcher this month.

As Lunsford wasn't on the 40-man roster, his call-up caused San Francisco to designate minor league shortstop Nelson Castro for assignment. Although he's shown promise in the past, what few skills he possessed diminished as the 26-year-old repeated AA again this year.

I'm quite surprised that Edwards Guzman is not among their call-ups. The only reason I can think for not giving him another September cup-of-coffee is an injury, although none has been reported and his AAA at-bats don't seemed to indicate missed playing time. The 25-year-old hit .297 with a .324 OBP, and .392 SLG on 116 H, 22 2B, 5 HR, a 16:26 BB:K and 1/4 SB% in 390 AB at Fresno this year. In addition to providing the Giants with another catcher, Guzman would also add another left-handed bat.

Nathan hasn't been able to correct the control problems that have derailed his career, so he likely won't be used heavily this month. He's on the roster in case the Giants need an extra right-handed reliever, and he's capable of pitching several innings if needed.

San Francisco drafted Ransom out of Grand Canyon University in the 9th round of the 1998 draft. He's progressed at a steady rate through their minor leagues, repeating AAA this season after receiving a September call-up last season before heading to the AFL. The 26-year-old has both power and speed potential, but his plate discipline limits his upside. With Rich Aurilia and Jeff Kent in the middle infield, Ransom likely won't receive much playing time during the Giants' playoff push. He'll likely be limited to pinch hitting.

We discussed Torcato earlier this year after he spent three days on the Giants' roster in late July. He should provide San Francisco with a nice alternative reserve outfielder as well as another left-handed bat this month.

Overall, the Giants have added a solid collection of extra arms and bats that should help them win a couple close and extra-inning games, giving the team very favorable odds to overtake the Dodgers for the NL Wild Card, although we still like Houston's chances to remain competitive.