This was originally intended as a comment to Duke Street Kings' "Is Kyle Blanks getting Headley'd" diary. But as I continued typing I decided it was long enough for its own fanpost.

As far as Blanks goes, the tea leaves are clear. First the Padres sent a smoke signal via Bill Center, telling him the team has discussed sending Blanks down. A day later, the director of player development talks to mlb.com and sings the praises of AAA OF Luis Durango.

Durango would not only fill Blanks' vacated outfield slot, he could solve the Padres' leadoff-hitter problems. After a really slow start this season, Durango has a .370 OBP in Portland, and from what Randy Smith says, is playing really well defensively. His base-stealing instincts, though, suck, which is too bad considering he's one of the fastest players in all of baseball. And he's on the 40-man roster.

But the question is not whether the Padres are ready to send Kyle Blanks down, it's what to do with the rest of the outfield? Pitchers are feeding a steady diet of low-and-inside stuff to Will Venable, who just can't adjust. His OBP is down to .291, a point below that of Blanks. Matt Stairs is even farther below, at .240. By comparison, Tony Gwynn's OBP looks stellar at .333. But he himself says he needs to be at .400 to be of any real use to the team. His average is .218.

That's a whole lotta nothin' in the outfield. The team has been making noises about Chris Young not being ready to pitch again until the All-Star break, if then. That sounds like they are considering moving him to the 60-man DL, which would open a spot on the 40-man roster. And the truth is, there are a couple of other guys in Portland's outfield who are more desrving a a call-up than Durango but who are not on the 40-man.

Mike Baxter leads the team in OBP at.411 and has been scoring runs, though his RBI total is low. Chris Denorfia has an OBP of .383.

I think we will see two of the three guys mentioned here -- plus Everth Cabrera back at shortstop -- by Friday, when the Padres return to Petco.