The first move of the day came courtesy of the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, when they acquired All-Star outfielder Shane Victorino from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and minor league pitcher Ethan Martin. Victorino will take the third outfield position after All-stars Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to create a three-headed monster in L.A.

Victorino was not the only Philadelphia outfielder to move out west as the San Francisco Giants acquired fellow former Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence in exchange for outfielder Nate Schierholtz, Double-A catcher Tommy Joseph, and class A pitcher Seth Rosin. Pence will provide an immediate impact to a Giants offense that has had difficulties scoring at times this season. Pence is currently hitting .271 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs.

After acquiring third baseman Chris Johnson from Houston on Sunday, Arizona was not expected to make anymore major additions to the squad with most positions set for the stretch run. That was until Ken Rosenthal reported early Tuesday morning that Arizona GM was looking to make a blockbuster deal in order to secure a premiere starter. All morning rumors were surfacing of possible deals involving Arizona All-Star outfielder Justin Upton being involved in a package to secure such a pitcher.

Names such as Seattle starter Felix Hernandez, Chicago starter Matt Garza, Philadelphia starter Cliff Lee, Florida starter Josh Johnson, and Tampa starter James Shields, were all linked to Arizona. By the time the deadline came around, no deal was able to be done for a premiere starter.

Arizona did make a move before the deadline had come, sending relief pitcher Craig Breslow to Boston for outfielder Scott Podsednik and relief pitcher Matt Albers. The move was rather minor compared to the rumored blockbuster deal that Towers was apparently working towards.

San Diego third baseman Chase Headley ended up staying a Padre after being shopped around for weeks by San Diego management. It looks like they intend to keep him around with key players Carlos Quentin and Huston Street to build for the future.

It was a very eventful day with countless rumors thrown around all day. Whether the D-backs did enough to keep themselves in the thick of things in the N.L. West will remain to be seen.

My question is, will Arizona make a similar statement?

Granted, trading for a player the caliber of Ramirez does not happen every season, and he is truly a unique combination of pure talent and interesting character. But there is plenty of talent out there for the picking if the D-backs were looking to add depth for a run at the West title.

July 24, 2012; Philadelphia, PA USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Zack Greinke (13) pitches during the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE

In terms of the team’s depth chart, the team is relatively depth throughout the lineup for position players. Our offense has been stable enough to put up close to five runs a game, with a good combination of speed and power mixed throughout the lineup. From what I can see, pitching has been a thorn in the team’s side all season long.

In the search for starting pitching, the Dodgers have been linked to Chicago Cubs starters Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza. The Rays have been rumored to have made starting pitcher James Shields available, and with the Brewers fading from contention, Zack Greinke has been one of the most sought after starters this trade season.

Although Arizona has prime pitching prospects at the cusp of breaking it into the bigs (Bauer, Skaggs, Corbin), there is a glaring need for depth in the rotation this season. Aside from rookie starter Wade Miley, the rest of the rotation has been anything but consistent this season.

If the team is  serious about making a push for a playoff spot, picking up some depth at the trade deadline would make sense.

Miley got some help early in the game as Justin Upton scored Gerardo Parra on an RBI single to left center field in the bottom of the first.

The offense for both teams remained quiet until the bottom of the sixth inning when Aaron Hill was able to reach base on an infield single, plating Parra.

Chicago would respond in the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run by Alfonso Soriano, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Arizona extended their lead in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run by Jason Kubel. They would add on two more runs in the bottom of the next inning on a two-run single by Upton.

However, the story of the night was the starting pitching for both clubs. Both teams were held in check for a good majority of the game as Matt Garza battled with Miley all night, pitching seven strong innings and only allowing three runs. Unfortunately for Garza, Miley was a step ahead, going eight strong, allowing only three hits, one run, and collected seven strikeouts. With the win, Miley collected his ninth victory of the season.

Arizona has a day off Monday before hitting the road and opening up a three game series against the Atlanta Braves.