The trade deadline is now less than 48 hours away and the Dodgers are still looking for another bat and an upgrade to their rotation.

An additional bat should be the priority, but the Dodgers seem intent on securing an arm instead.

Either way, what are the rumors today?

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Remember that Ryan Dempster thing? Well, it’s still going on.

The Cubs and Dodgers are still discussing righty Ryan Dempster, tweets Yahoo’s Tim Brown. Left fielder Alfonso Soriano remains part of these trade talks, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Dodgers are said to be Dempster’s first choice, and he controls the process with 10-and-5 rights.

I think a package deal of Dempster and Alfonso Soriano is the most likely move the Dodgers make before the deadline.

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Jayson Stark of ESPN has the Dodgers in active pursuit of Josh Johnson.

Clubs identify the Dodgers, Orioles and Blue Jays as other aggressive suitors for Johnson while the White Sox, Red Sox, Braves, and Royals have checked in.

Still don’t think they could form an appealing package for him even if they wanted to.

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Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times says the team is chasing James Shields as well.

The Braves, Dodgers, Indians and Rangers are the teams most interested in Shields, who, along with Miami’s Josh Johnson, are two of the most prominent starters being talked about in advance of Tuesday’s deadline for nonwaiver deals.

Not entirely sure how much of an upgrade he actually is at this point.

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Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly puts the Dodgers on Shane Victorino.

Multiple baseball sources indicated on Saturday that the Phils’ talks involving Victorino were getting warm. The Reds, Pirates, Dodgers and Giants all have interest in Victorino, and scouts from those clubs have peeked in on the Phillies lately. The Dodgers have two scouts eye-balling the Phillies in Atlanta, and the Reds also have a scout in town for the Phils-Braves series. The Reds also like outfielder Juan Pierre.

Please no.

Moving on to actual potential upgrades, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports says the Dodgers would like to get Shin Soo Choo, but Buster Olney of ESPN plays Johnny Raincloud and says it would take a ton for the Indians to move him.

Count the Dodgers among teams interested in Choo.

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) July 30, 2012

Indians think it’s unlikely they’ll move Shin-Soo Choo. They’d need the perfect offer to make it happen.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 30, 2012

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says the Dodgers have interest in Justin Morneau.

At least the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Giants appear to have some interest in Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, who is making a nice comeback this year.

Despite all the rumors, it doesn’t appear as if anything is imminent. The Dempster/Soriano deal is closest to being done, but most of the other rumors have the Dodgers just interested for now.

With that said, I doubt the Dodgers are done for 2012 in the trade market, so I anticipate things escalating quickly.