Shi Davidi is reporting that Chad Jenkins has been called up for the series against the Astros, no word on who is coming off the roster to make room for him, but Dan Johnson didn't look healthy after hitting the bag at first on a ground out, in the 9th inning of last night's game. I wouldn't be surprised if he was going on the DL. Of course, maybe Steve Tolleson's wife is going to have that baby.

Chad Jenkins has been up and down so often, I forget how many times it's been.  I think this is his 5th time he's been called up this year. He has a 3.72 ERA, in 15 games as a Blue Jay. In 19.1 innings he's allowed 20 hits, 2 home runs, 4 walks and has 10 strikeouts.

In Buffalo he has a 4.05 ERA in 18 games, 4 starts. In 40 innings, he's allowed 37 hits, 4 home runs, 9 walks with 23 strikeouts.

Welcome back Chad.

Update: Dan Johnson is hitting the DL. He really didn't look good last night.

And the Yankees claimed Esmil Rogers off waivers.

Lots of little bits of news, but no big trades like we've been waiting on.

UPDATE- Jarred Cosart has been traded to the Miami Marlins. Right-hander Jake Buchanan will start for the Astros tonight.

With all the excitement of the trade deadline this afternoon, it's easy to forget that there's also a Blue Jays game tonight. At this point it looks like Jarred Cosart will not be traded away from the Astros and will start against Toronto this evening at Minute Maid Park. The righty will go up against Drew Hutchison, who had a solid start against the Yankees last time out. The Astros currently sit at 44-64 and are once again heading towards a very high pick in next June's entry draft, although division rival Texas is even lower in the standings right now.

If you were a team interested in acquiring a young arm then Cosart would be a good guy to take a look at. The hard-throwing righty will have slightly over one year of service time after this year, meaning he won't reach arbitration until 2017 and won't become a free agent until 2020.

The 24-year-old is from Texas and was drafted by the Phillies in the 38th round due to a hard college commitment, but signed for a rather large bonus. He made his way down to Houston in the Hunter Pence deal that also landed Jonathan Singleton, which has turned out pretty well for the Astros. Cosart mainly throws a cutter and a curveball, which is a repertoire you'd expect to see coming out of the bullpen rather than in a starting rotation. Cosart has a big hook, similar to the one that Brandon Workman was throwing yesterday:

Against right-handed hitters this season, Cosart has thrown his cutter 65% of the time and has tried to run it off the plate similar to a slider:

Hopeful Lineup

Cosart has reverse splits in the small sample size of his career, getting hit much harder by right-handers.

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera DH
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Dioner Navarro C
5. Colby Rasmus CF
6. Juan Francisco 1B
7. Danny Valencia 3B
8. Anthony Gose LF
9. Ryan Goins 2B

Bullpen Usage

Blue Jays

• Yesterday- Aaron Loup (1.1 IP, 15 pitches), Dustin McGowan (1.0 IP, 16 pitches).
• Two Days Ago- Aaron Sanchez (0.1 IP, 2 pitches), Brett Cecil (0.2 IP, 15 pitches), Casey Janssen (1.0 IP, 20 pitches).

A cool look from MiLB.com at how the former Wildcat has changed his game to improve his stock

Every year around the trade deadline, MLB.com adjusts their list of top prospects in every organization. One former Arizona Wildcat found themselves in the Top 20 for their club, and that guy is 2012 National Championship hero Robert Refsnyder.

Refsnyder was listed as the No. 6 prospect in the Yankees organization, as well as the No. 10 overall prospect at second base.

Wait a minute, second base? Arizona fans obviously remember Refsnyder patrolling right field just two years ago. So how did he end up at second base? Check out his scouting grades, and they'll give you a little bit of a clue:

Scouting ranks are on a 20-80 scale, so as you can see, he's graded right around average for everything. Fielding and power at 45 are certainly red flags when you're talking about playing outfield in the Big Leagues.

Every week, MiLB.com does an article called "Stock Watch", where they profile a particular player whose stock is up, and this week, that player was Refsnyder.

In it, Jake Seiner does a great job of showing how Refsnyder has transformed his game from last year to this year, and how it has turned him into a highly-rated prospect at second base instead of a corner outfielder that will be lost in the mid-level minor leagues.

One huge thing that has changed in Refsnyder's game is his ability to drive the ball into the outfield, something he was struggling with in 2012 and 2013. Seiner offers up this graphic, comparing where the balls Refsnyder hits actually wind up in the field.

via www.milb.com

The main takeaway from this graphic is the sudden emergence of power to the left side. a huge thing that was missing in his game.

The right-handed hitter has pummeled the left-center power alley this season. Each of his career-high 13 home runs has gone to left or left-center, and many of his 29 doubles have been driven between left and center, as well.

The addition of power is no accident. The right-handed hitter had his swing overhauled by Double-A hitting coach Marcus Thames, and in this profile from the New York Daily News, Refsnyder also cites getting to watch and talk to none other than Alex Rodriguez while A-Rod was rehabbing in Tampa last year.

"A-Rod was the staple for a righthanded hitter," Refsnyder told John Harper of the Daily News. "You'd go to any batting cage, any guy showing film of hitting, and A-Rod's swing would come up. I got to watch him and talk to him about hitting approach when he was rehabbing in Tampa. Whenever he was in the cage he always had a plan, a purpose. His swing was so short and direct. As a guy whose swing wasn't where I wanted it to be, I took a lot from watching him."

So how did Refsnyder change his approach at the plate? Here's a couple looks at his past batting stance and his current one that Seiner put together.

via www.milb.com

Now here's a shot of A-Rod's batting stance

via img.bleacherreport.net

Similar lower half. The bat is in a different position for Refsnyder, but it's obvious that he's found a more powerful way to set up his hips, knees and feet.

Now take a look at Refsnyder's change in leg kick.

via www.milb.com

And here's A-Rod's leg kick.

A-Rod's affect here is pretty obvious. No matter what you think of him as a person and a drug-user, there's no denying he knew how to hit a baseball.

That right fielder we saw in 2012 may look a lot different at the plate, and isn't actually playing outfield anymore, but Rob Refsnyder is on the verge of being the first player from that team to play at the big league level because of these adjustments.

With Cosart gone, Jake Buchanan gets the start for the Astros.

Houston Astros (44-64) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (59-50), 7:10 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV 
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Blue Jays SBNation Blog: Bluebird Banter

Pitching matchup

RHP Jake Buchanan (1-1, 5.56 ERA, 1.68 WHIP) vs. LHP Drew Hutchison (7-9, 4.44 ERA, 1.34 WHIP)

Preview

Hug watch 2014 came to an end with a boom - a team now has the three Cy-Young award winners in one rotation, one team has burnt itself to the ground and rebuilt already, and finally Jarred Cosart is no longer an Astro. Cosart had been warming up before his scheduled start tonight, but was later seen hugging his teammates in street clothes soon after the 4:00 pm ET deadline. The universal sign of a trade had happened. Focusing on today's game with respect to the trade, Jake Buchanan now gets the start in place of Cosart.

The righty from N.C. State has made one start for the Astros this season, he lasted only 4.1 innings against TampaBay and gave up five runs on eight hits. Since then his has made four other appearances as a reliever in the month of July. He has given up two earned runs over six innings of work. In his last outing, he held the Marlins scoreless for 2.1 innings on July 27 - including four strikeouts.

The Astros rookie faces a streaking Blue Jays team, that has won five in-a-row and eight of their last ten. Five Blue Jays have an OPS at or above .800 in the team's last seven games (25+ at-bats). Juan Francisco is batting .381 (8-21) with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs in his last six games. Melky Cabrera is 12-for-30 with five doubles, two home runs, and nine RBIs in his last seven games. Jose Bautista is at .320 (8-25) with four extra-base hits over that same stretch. Dioner Navarro (10-25) and Ryan Goins (9-25) are also knocking the cover off the ball.

On the mound for the Jays today is Drew Hutchison. I'm sure the left-hander is happy to get out of the month of July, he has been trending in the wrong direction - 3.82 ERA in April, 3.94 in May, 4.28 in June, and 5.93 in July. Most of the damage this month came from a 2.2 inning start with six runs allowed to the Red Sox on July 21. Hutchison rebounded in New York, holding the Yankees to two runs over 6.2 innings Saturday. Looking at Hutchison's splits, he has a 2.95 ERA on the road compared to a 6.62 ERA at Home - an alarming split for a game not being played in the Rogers Centre.

The Astros will run out three hot bats tonight, Chris Carter, Jason Castro, and Jose Altuve - all three have an OPS over .800 in 20-plus at-bats. Altuve is doing what Altuve does, batting .429 (12-28) in his last seven games. Castro and Carter each have two home runs during this stretch.

In a huge six-player deadline deal, the Houston Astros traded right-handed starter Jarred Cosart, outfielder Austin Wates, and infielder Enrique Hernandez to the Miami Marlins. In exchange, the Astros receive outfielder Jake Marisnick, third baseman Colin Moran, pitcher Francis Martes, and a compensation choice in the 2015 MLB draft.

Cosart isn't a technical rookie but is just a sophomore, making this an unusual youth-for-youth, prospect-for-prospect deal. Let's take a look.

Jarred Cosart, RHP: Sophomore Cosart is 9-7, 4.41 with a 75/51 K/BB in 116 innings this year, 119 hits allowed, 4.02 FIP. You have to love his stuff but his sabermetric profile isn't strong in the strikeout and K/BB departments. If a time traveling scout told me that Cosart would flame out due to command problems or injury I'd believe them, but if they told me he developed into a 200-inning-per-year-for-a-decade workhorse I'd believe that too.

Enrique Hernandez, SS-OF: Hernandez was a sixth round pick in 2009 from high school in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Groomed as a utility player who can handle multiple positions, he did not show much with the bat until this year when he broke out with a .336/.379/.503 mark in 304 at-bats between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Oklahoma City. Promoted to the majors, he's hit .284/.348/.420 in 81 at-bats over 24 games. He's never hit anything close to this in past seasons, with a career-high OPS of .732 back in rookie ball.

Hernandez is 5-11, 170, a right-handed hitter born August 24, 1991. He did hit 13 homers in 2013 but his overall line was just .236/.297/.375 and I don't think anyone expected this kind of outburst. His best attribute pre-season was a good glove at second base, but the Astros have played him all over the field with competent results. Given the out-of-career-context nature of his performance this year, I'm frankly not sure what to make of him.

Austin Wates, OF: Wates was a third round pick by the Astros in 2010 from Virginia Tech. He has been a rock-steady .300 hitter the minor leagues, with a career line of .303/.381/.415, including .300/.389/.376 in 89 games of Triple-A, with 45 walks and 48 strikeouts in 330 at-bats. He's also stolen 34 bases in 39 Triple-A attempts, 98-for-121 in his entire career.

Wates is listed at 6-1, 180, a right-handed hitter born September 2nd, 1988. Despite his propensity for hitting .300, scouts aren't wild about his inside-out swing. He's not a walk machine but he doesn't strike out very much. His running speed is above-average and he's developed into an efficient stealer, but he's a tweener defensively, lacking the instincts for center and the power for a corner.

All that said, I've always liked him for some reason and it wouldn't surprise me if he kept hitting .300, though whether that's enough to start regularly for a good team given his other limitations remains to be seen. He could be a fine reserve outfielder.

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Francis Martes, RHP: Martes was signed by the Marlins out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. Information about him is sparse, but he's posted a 5.18 ERA in 33 innings for the Gulf Coast League Marlins, with a 33/20 K/BB ratio. Listed at 6-0, 170, he was born November 24, 1995. He is a live-armed rookie baller who is trying to learn to pitch, like two hundred other guys. Obviously the Astros saw something they liked with him and as more details emerge we will pass them along.

Jake Marisnick, OF: Drafted by the Blue Jays in the third round from a California high school in 2009, Marisnick was traded to Miami in the huge Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes trade in November 2012. He received a major league trial last year but hit just .183/.231/.248 in 109 at-bats, and hit just .167/.216/.162 in another 48 at-bats this year. He's spent most of the season with Triple-A New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League, hitting .277/.326/.434 with 10 homers, 17 walks, 64 strikeouts, and 24 stolen bases in 343 at-bats.

Marisnick is a 6-4, 225 pound right-handed hitter and thrower born March 30, 1991. His bat is obviously an issue and he's been dogged by trouble with pitch recognition and swing mechanics. However, the Marlins did him no favors by jumping him from Double-A to the majors last summer with no intervening exposure against Triple-A breaking stuff; it is still possible he can improve. His outfield glove is considered outstanding in all respects, good enough for him to have a career as a defensive specialist even if the bat doesn't come around.

Colin Moran, 3B: Drafted in the first round, sixth overall, from the University of North Carolina in 2013, Moran was rated as the top pure hitter in the '13 college class by many scouts. He's lived up to that in the batting average department thus far with a .295 career mark at the A-ball level. However, scouts wondered how much home run power he would show in pro ball and indeed he has not been a slugger, knocking nine homers and 29 doubles for a .408 SLG in 515 at-bats.

Moran is a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower, listed at 6-4, 215, born October 1st, 1992. Despite his size he doesn't produce huge power numbers due to a tailored line drive swing. That said, he's still been a reasonably productive hitter; if he can hit .300 with 30 doubles and 15 homers a year, his other skills will play. Although he lacks running speed and stolen base potential, this defense at third base has been much better than expected, with excellent reliability and surprising range. The glovework will buy the power development of his bat plenty of time.

ANALYSIS: This is a classic sell-high, buy-low maneuver for the Astros. Cosart is certainly talented, but the sabermetric red flags are there and it is plausible that his trade value will never be higher than it currently is. Hernandez has never hit this well before and they may be selling that lightning before it vanishes. Wates is fast and can hit for average, but Marisnick is younger, has more power potential and a much better glove. Marisnick's own value on the trade market is suppressed right now due to his problems in the majors, so they are buying low. Moran hasn't hit for home run power this year, also suppressing his public stock, but he was a first round pick only a year ago, hasn't been bad by any means, and has been very good defensively. Martes could be anything. Overall, the logic on Houston's part is clear. For the Marlins, this boils down to Cosart: can they mold that wonderful arm into a pitcher who can dominate consistently?

Fans are often hoping that Juan Francisco won't strikeout, but when really falls behind in the count, hoping may not be worth your time anymore.

In many ways baseball is a game of blind faith.

The most pertinent recent example is the way that Blue Jays fans, and apparently Jose Bautista, hoped the Jays would make major additions at the non-waiver trade deadline despite fairly solid evidence that wasn't going to happen. More generally fans of any batter are always hoping he'll get a hit every at-bat despite the fact even the best hitters make outs the vast majority of the time.

When the bottom of the ninth rolls around and the Blue Jays are down by a run or two, it's impossible not to think they are right in it, even if the chances of victory are slim. If being a fan meant giving up whenever the odds were stacked against your team it wouldn't be much fun. It's hard to imagine the entire Rogers Centre emptying out if the Jays fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first, even though the Jays win expectancy falls to just under 38 percent in that situation.

Seeing the improbable is part of the joy of watching sports. In some hypothetical time travelling situation where Ryan Goins, playing through a wrist injury, goes up against Randy Johnson in his prime, there is still a chance Goins hits a towering home run to shock the world. One of the best aspects of baseball, in my view, is watching unlikely heroes emerge and unlikely events transpire.

Thinking about hope and baseball made me wonder if there is a situation where the logical left brain just takes over and tells you that it's just not going to happen for your team. Everyone probably has a different threshold on this point. Although I can be a soulless and calculating robot at times, there is almost no situation where I can completely give up on the Jays. That's a character flaw on my part, but to be fair being a devoted sports fan is probably a character flaw of sorts to begin with.

In order to help remedy that flaw I attempted to find a situation with the Jays when hope just shouldn't be in the cards. The answer came fairly quickly: Juan Francisco in an 0-2 count.

Francisco is arguably known for his career strikeout rate of 34.5% more than anything else. Sure, he has impressive power, but when you picture the 27-year-old slugger, an image of him swinging through a breaking ball probably comes to mind first. His severe whiffing tendencies made me wonder how bad things get when Francisco gets as far behind in the count as you can get.

The results are pretty astounding. Through an 0-2 count this is what Francisco has done:

To be entirely fair, hitters don't tend to do well through 0-2, but this is something else. The negative wRC+ really sells it.

It should not be surprising that Francisco's big issue is striking out here. The following Brooks Baseball Zone Profile shows how often the big third baseman whiffs when he reaches 0-2 (Pro Tip: Ignore the strike zone and look beneath it):

The main reason why he's whiffing so much is that he's swinging for terrible pitches when he gets behind:

At the end of the day Francisco is simply a player with extreme strengths and extreme weaknesses. He can't hit lefties, he can't run, and he can't hit from behind in the count. What he can do is absolutely destroy baseballs. The 131 wRC+ and 16 home runs he brought into last night's action are proof of that. He is simultaneously infuriating and glorious to watch, that's Juan being Juan.

However, the extremities of his game show us that there are times when you can shut it down as a fan. When Francisco is down 0-2 you can pretty forget about it.

Except the thing is that you can't. A .108 average may be downright pitiful, but if you're a true fan it will probably keep you in your seat. Even if Francisco is going to strike out in almost every 0-2 count there's a always a very remote chance something good will happen. That sliver of a chance is enough.

In order to crush that chance you have to be a little more specific. To take it a step further, the chart below shows what Juan Francisco has done against southpaws in a 0-2 count:

It should be noted that this is not through 0-2, but on the 0-2 pitch specifically. As a result it would be impossible to draw a walk here, but a chart needs columns.

Nevertheless, it is a portrait of hopelessness. If you see Francisco down 0-2 to a left hander it's safe to change the channel.

But if you do you could miss out on something incredible.

After all, there's a first time for everything.

Friday brings us another edition of Around The Nest, the weekly audio podcast about the Blue Jays' minor league affiliates and prospects. The host is the Voice of the Lansing Lugnuts, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, and he plans to talk up and down the system this afternoon with the radio voices of each team chiming in (and Baseball Propsectus's Chris King will be joining to talk about the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays).

As always, Bluebird Banter commenters will be able to ask their questions in the comment area below, and Jesse will relay them to his guests. Make sure you get them in before 5 pm Eastern when the podcast goes live!

My question of the week for all the broadcasters: the Blue Jays did not make a move at the non-waiver trade deadline yesterday, but if they had traded a prospect, which one player from your team would you have been most sad to see leave the organization?

You can follow this link to listen live at 5 pm Eastern as well as to download a copy for offline listening after the broadcast is completed.

In case you missed it, here's last week's show:

Foltynewicz called up, Marisnick starting, and former Astro Happ on the mound. What more could you ask for?

Houston Astros (44-65) vs.Toronto Blue Jays (60-50), 7:10 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV 
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Blue Jays SBNation Blog: Bluebird Banter

Pitching matchup

RHP Collin McHugh (4-9, 3.45 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) vs. J.A. Happ (8-5, 4.58 ERA, 1.51 WHIP)

Preview

Today is bursting with storylines - Mike Foltynewicz has been called up, Jake Marisnick makes his Astros debut, J.A. Happ returns to Houston, and (my personal choice) it's Lance Berkman bobblehead day. So there is a lot going on, but let's look at tonight's starters first.

Collin McHugh has been snakebit these past few starts, he is 0-6 with a 4.46 ERA in last six starts. He gave up four earned runs over 6.1 innings on Saturday. He hasn't been as sharp at home, posting a 4.75 in 47.1 innings and five home runs in last two starts. That said he still  near the top of the AL in opponents' batting average (.202) and strikeouts (102 in 88.2 innings).

Juan Francisco and Jose Reyes have previously faced McHugh. Francisco is 1-for-3 with a home run, and Reyes is 1-for-1 with a triple.

Former Astros J.A. Happ takes the mound for the Jays tonight. Happ has had a solid season and bounced back nicely from his line drive scare in 2013 to hold down a rotation for Toronto. Happ last appearance before the All-Star break was out of the pen - he gave up two runs over 0.2 innings. Since the break, he has been sharp - giving up three runs in just 11.1 innings.

Two active Astros have previously faced Happ in their careers. Chris Carter is 0-for-2 with a walk. Starting first baseman tonight, Jesus Guzman is 2-for-9.

Jake Marisnick makes his first start for the Astros after being included in the Jarred Cosart trade. Marisnick with Triple-A New Orleans was batting .277 (95-343) with 30 extra-base hits, 40 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. Marisnick will be in center and bat seventh.

Top prospect Mike Foltynewicz has been called up to get some seasoning in the bullpen. He has a 7-7 record with a 5.08 ERA with 102 strikeouts to 52 walks in 21 starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City. MLB.com ranked him fourth in Houston' top ten propsects list. Folty's key to success is locating his lighting quick fastball.

Gregorio Petit found the perfect time to get his first major league home run, late runs lead to Astros victory.

It was a strangely cool august in Houston, TX, as if the visiting team from the north had brought the weather with them. It was Lance Berkman bobblehead night. Life was pretty good when I sat down with a hotdog and drink to take in the game.

Collin McHugh faced off against former Astro J.A. Happ. The Jays gave Happ the upper hand early. Back-to-back singles from Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista turned into a run on a Dioner Navarro sac-fly. Happ held his one-run lead by retiring the first 11 batters he faced.

The streaking Chris Carter broke the seal for Houston hitting in the fourth with a sharp single to the hole, Jose Reyes was able to get in front of the ball but couldn't get anything on the throw. Matt Dominguez walked, pushing Carter to second. Carter would race home on a bloop single from Jesus Guzman. Guzman, who started for the right-handed matchup against the left-handed Happ, left the game with back spasms. Jon Singleton replaced him at first.

Minus one miscue from Singleton at first, the defense was sharp behind McHugh. Carlos Corporan was able to whip away Singleton's error with a rare strike'em out, throw'em out double-play. New Astro Jake Marisnick looked smooth in center field as if he had been playing in Minute Maid Park for years.

Darin Downs and Jose Veras shut the down the Jays in the seventh and eighth innings. They allowed zero runners to reach base for 1.2 innings, and Veras struck out Jose Bautista looking to end the top of the eight.

Lefty Aaron Loup came in to face the Astros hitters in bottom of the eight. Gregorio Petit greeted him with his first career home run on the first pitch he saw. Jose Altuve would follow up with another first pitch rocket that bounced up against the visiting team bullpen fence. Mely Cabrera pulled a veteran move and threw up his hands to signal a ground-rule double when the ball bounced into the space between the warning track and wall padding. The ball wasn't stuck in any way shape or form. The ball had found it's way out from under the padding almost immediately after Melky had called for a dead-ball. Either way, Altuve and Robbie Grossman made it a mute point. Altuve stole third and Grossman drove him home with a long fly ball to right.

Chad Qualls closed out the game with two strikeouts to pick up his twelfth save of the season. The night was capped off by the usual friday fireworks, this time Disney themed. But, Gregorio Petit had provided the first firework of the night with his first major league home run to put the Astros in the lead for good.

A quick look at yesterday's Blue Jays minor league games.

Dunedin Blue Jays

Won 10-8 over the Palm Beach Cardinals.

• Brett Lawrie got into his first rehab game. He went 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. What is the over/under on games before he's back? 5?
• Roberto Osuna started the game, his second time in a game this season, after an inning early in July in the GCL. He went 3.1 allowing 4 hits, 3 earned, 1 walk with 6 strikeouts, so it could have gone better but happy to see him pitching.
• Cole Gillespie also had a rehab start, going 1 for 5.
• Emilio Guerrero went 3 for 4, 2 doubles. .254/.294/.396.
• Shane Opitz was 3 for 4, with a double. .297/.366/.324.
• Jorge Saez was 3 for 4, home run. .213/.319/.311.

Buffalo Bisons

Won 4-2 over the Indianapolis Indians.

• Brad Mills 6.2 innings, 4 hits, 2 earned, 0 walks, 1 home run and 5 strikeouts.
• Basically everyone in the lineup had 1 hit. Ryan Schimpf was 1 for 2 was a home run and was hit by pitch twice. Schimpf is hitting .188/.302/.403 with 8 home runs in 45 games at Buffalo.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Won both halves of a double header beating Reading Fighting Phils 9-2 and 5-2.

• Austin Bibens-Dirkx went 6.0, allowed 4 hits, 2 earned, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. 2.49.
• Scott Copeland went 7 (complete game), 6 hits, 1 earned, 3 walks, 9 k. 3.87.
• Andy Burns was 4 for 7 (in the 2 games), 4 hits, 1 double. .260/.321/.419.
• Andy Fermin was 3 for 6, 1 double. .269/.322/.426.

Lansing Lugnuts

Lost to Great Lakes Loons 3-1

• Mitch Nay 2 for 4, home run. .277/.335/.375.
• D.J. Davis 2 for 4, 2 strikeouts. .212/.268/.317.
• Justin Atkinson 2 for 4, 1 strikeouts. .306/.371/.371.

Vancouver Canadians

Lost to Boise 11-10.

• Max Pentecost 4 for 6, 1 triple. .333/.347/.435 in 16 games.
• Ryan McBroom 3 for 6, double, homer. .331/.368/.550.
• Gunnar Heidt3 for 6, double in his second game for the Canadians.
• Michael De La Cruz 3 for 6, double. .241/.317/.343.

Bluefield Blue Jays

Lost to the Bristol Pirates 7-3.

• Jesus Tinoco went 2.2, allowed 9 hits, 5 earned, 2 walks, 1 strikeout. 5.94 ERA.
• Richard Urena 2 for 4. .320/.360/.464.
• Angel Rojas 2 for 4, double. .212/.255/.288.

The bats that were so so cold in June, came to life in July. The Jays hit .281/.340/.430 in July after a .248/.315/.392 line in June. We scored 4.6 runs per game, much better than the 3.9 in June but not quite the 5.5 per game we were putting up in May. We went 15-11 in the month.

Dioner Navarro had his best month of the season in July, he hit .300/.330/.467 with 3 home runs, 6 doubles, 12 RBI, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts in 23 games, 23 starts. I can't even complain that it is an empty .300 average average anymore. I complain about him hitting in the clean up spot but he's hitting .319/.385/.553 in 14 games batting 4th in the lineup. I'm relatively sure it is a sample size thing, but then I do feel that there are some guys that just like batting in some spots in the order. If batting 4th makes Dioner feel like a clean up  hitter and if thinking he is one makes him bat like one....I'm not going to complain.

Edwin Encarnacionplayed in 5 games before going on the DL. He hit .267/.421/.533 with 1 home run, 5 RBI, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. He can't get back soon enough for my liking.

Munenori Kawasaki has a very good month, he hit .307/.338/.347 with 3 doubles, 6 RBI, 4 walks and 18 strikeouts. Pretty good for a guy that might be losing his job. He played 8 games at third base, and looked better doing it than I thought he would.

Jose Reyes had a great month with the bat, hitting .324/.361/.414 with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 RBI, 3 steals, 7 walks and 13 strikeouts. I do think that as Reyes goes, the team goes. His defense.....well you know.

Juan Francisco: He had a good month too, hitting .258/.319/.532 with 4 home runs, 1 triple, 3 doubles, 12 RBI, 5 walks and 25 strikeouts. He is going to make it tough to decide who goes down when Lawrie is back.

Melky Cabrera: Another one that had a great month. .356/.417/.538 with 3 home runs, 1 triple, 8 doubles, 17 RBI, 11 walks, 8 strikeouts. Even had a stolen base. He started all 26 games

Colby Rasmus:  So someone that didn't have a good month. .197/.288/.380 with 3 homers, 1 triple, 2 doubles. 7 RBI. 3 steals, 9 walks and 26 strikeouts. Started 19 of the 26 games. I get the feeling he's playing himself of the teams plans for next year.

Jose Bautista: It wasn't a great month for him. He is .263/.360/.505 with 6 home runs, 5 doubles, 14 RBI, 2 steals, 14 walks and 17 strikeouts. The first month of the season that he didn't have a OBP above .400.

Adam Lind: Got into 7 games, starting 4, before going on the DL. He hit .222/.222/.333 with 2 doubles. 1 RBI, 0 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Anthony Gose: Hit .245/.339/.265 in 17 games, 16 starts. Had 1 double, 4 RBI, 6 steals, 1 caught, 4 walks and 8 strikeouts. One extra base hit on the month. I thought he had a better month than that.

Steven Tolleson: He hit .282/.326/.385 with 1 double, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 1 steal, 1 caught, 1 walk and 22 strikeouts. For the season he's hitting .342/.398/.557 against lefties and .083/.170/.125 against RHP.

Ryan Goins: He's hit .324/.324/.432, with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 8 RBI, 0 walks and 8 strikeouts. I'd feel a lot better if he would take a base on balls now and then.

Dan Johnson: Played in 13 games, starting 10. He hit .235/.313/.444, with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 7 RBI, 8 strikeouts. He's been a decent fill in, but i'll be happier when Edwin and Adam are back.

Josh Thole: He started 7 games and hit great. .400/.487/.450 with 1 double, 1 RBI, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts.

Erik Kratz: He played in 4 games, starting 3, before being traded. He had 1 hit, a double. .077/.077/.154.

Darin Mastroianni: He played in 11 games, starting 4, before being sent out again. .125/.125/.125, 3 singles, 0 walks and 4 strikeouts. Boy, it couldn't have gone much worse.

Nolan Reimold: Played in 6 games, starting 5. He hit .353/.421/.583, he had 3 doubles, 2 homers and 1 single. 5 RBI, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.

Danny Valencia: Played 3 games for us in July. 2 for 6 with a double, 2 strikeouts.

Cole Gillespie:  Played in 2 games, 4 at bats, 0 hits.

Editor's Note: SB Nation partner FanDuel is hosting a $18,000 one-day Fantasy Baseball league today. It is $2 to join and first prize is $2000. Deadline to enter is 7:05 Eastern. Here is the link. If you haven't tried it, take a look, it is fun.

The Astros attempt to solve the knuckleball today at Minute Maid Park.

Houston Astros (45-65) vs.Toronto Blue Jays (60-51), 6:10 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV 
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Blue Jays SBNation Blog: Bluebird Banter

Pitching matchup

LHP Brett Oberholtzer (3-7, 4.30 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) vs. RHP R.A. Dickey (9-10, 3.91 ERA, 1.28)

Preview

The newest Astros have done well since their arrival. Gregorio Petit hit his first home run in his major league career last night at proved to be the winning run for the Astros. Jake Marisnick was floud in the large expanses of Minute Maid Park in his first start last night.

Today the Astros face the power-knuckler of R.A. Dickey. Dickey is not only one of the last knuckleballers in professional baseball, he has one the most unique knucklers ever. The 2012 NL Cy-Young award winner throws patented pitch at a higher velocity. He is coming off one of his best starts in 2014, holding the Red Sox to one run over seven innings of work - striking out ten and walking one. Dickey had his best month by ERA, posting a 3.07 ERA in starts in July.

In one start against Houston this season, Dickey gave up five runs on six hits over seven innings on April 10. A few Astros have figured out the knuckleball in their careers. Today's left fielder, Marc Krauss is 3-for-5 with three extra-base hits against Dickey in his career. Jason Castro is batting .308 in 13 at-bats against Dickey. Robbie Grossman is 1-for-2 with a home run. On the other hand, Jose Altuve and Chris Carter a collective 0-for-16 against the knuckleball.

Brett Oberholtzer takes the mound for the Astros tonight - hopefully with a new lease on his baseball life. The Astros have reinserted him into the rotation. Traded away another young pitcher and demoted his competition all in the past week. Oberholtzer fought his way back to the big leagues with four consecutive quality starts, and he has gone eight consecutive starts with at least six innings of work. In his last seven starts he is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA. In his last start he picked up the win against the red-hot Athletics, holding the A's to three runs over 6.2 innings.

On April 8, Obe' faced the Jays in Toronto, he allowed three runs over 5.1 innings. Jose Bautista had a home run and walk in that game. Dioner Navarro was 1-for-2 with a double. Melky Cabrera (0-3) and Colby Rasmus (0-2) were hitless against the lefty.

Houston blasted through the Jays to take game.

Sometimes fans forget what they are watching is a game. A game that most people played at least once as a kid. It's that memory of playing as kid that lingers - the joy and happiness of baseball. It's something that has been forgotten in Astroland for some time now, 400 losses in four seasons will cause to happen. But, today's game brought all those good memories back.

It was a perfect day for baseball, sun setting on a rare 80 degree August day in Houston. There were smiles all a round as Houston looked like they were playing little league. Not to say the Blue Jays are a little league team, but little league type of events happened in the game.

For the third straight game this series, the Jays put a run on the board in the first. Jose Reyes doubled to lead off the game, and Melky Cabrera's attempt to move Reyes over with a bunt - it turned into a single. Nolan Reimold drove home Reyes with a sac-fly.

The Astros would match said run with their own in the bottom of the first with two doubles from Houston's hottest hitters Jose Altuve and Chris Carter. Jason Castro moved Carter to third with a single, and Jon Singleton drove him home with a single of his own. The Astros took a 2-1 lead after the first.

Jose Bautista made sure it didn't last long with a double to score Anthony Gose - who led off the third with a walk. That would be the existent of the Jays offense for the day. Toronto wouldn't get another hit in the final five innings of the game.

Jose Altuve reached base in the fifth with a single. He would later score on a two throwing errors. Altuve took two bases on the first throwing error and took home on the throw to third that skipped away. Altuve speed allowed him to push for an extra on the first error and made the Jays look like little leaguers as he raced home on the second error. Chris Carter added another run with a home run onto the train trackers.

Brett Oberholtzer dealt with a lot of traffic on the basepaths in the first part of the game but he weathered the storm. He showed a distinct impression of confidence on the mound.  Obe's final line was 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, and 5 strikeouts. Top prospect Michael Foltynewicz replaced Oberholtzer, Folty showed his signature gas touching 99 mph multiple times. Folty retired two batters before walking his third. Bo Porter had seen enough and put Tony Sipp in. Juan Francisco took Sipp's first pitch deep. Robbie Grossman jumped up and snagged the ball in the first row in right, robbing Francisco of his home run.

The Astros offense played add-on, Jason Castro flipped a pitch into the Crawford Boxes with one one. L.J. Hoes replaced Marc Krauss, Hoes singled. Jon Singleton hit a laser to the bullpen fence in right, Anthony Gose misplayed the ball as it bounced of the base of the wall. The ball flew across the outfield to the visiting bullpen side. Singleton raced home and was called out on the home. Replay overturned the call and Singleton had his first career in-the-park home run. The team joyfully mobbed Singleton in the dugout when the replay review was over.

Hoes also did his best impression of Derek Jeter, he went head over heals into the stands to secured the catch of the foul ball. Paul Clemens shut the door on the Jays for the win, striking out the final batter looking with his slow curve. A perfect end to a perfect day at the ballpark for the Astros.

The Blue Jays try to salvage a series split with the Astros this afternoon at 2:10 pm as youngster Marcus Stroman faces off against Scott Feldman. The 31-year-old righty has been a pretty average pitcher his whole career, spending the majority of his 10 major league seasons with the Texas Rangers. He signed a three-year deal as a free agent this offseason with Houston that is worth $30 million. His numbers this year are pretty Scott Feldman-esque, as he has a 4.39 ERA and a K-rate of only 13.0%. Somewhat troubling for Houston is the fact that the normally high ground ball rate for Feldman has dropped to 42.6% leading to fly ball and line drive rates above his career norms.

The Hawaiian-born pitcher mainly throws a sinker, cutter, and curveball with his velocity topping out around the high-80's. Against right-handed hitters the sinker is the main fastball used, while lefties are much more likely to see his cutter. As you would expect, keeping the sinker low and away to righties as well as in on the hands is the name of the game for Feldman:

Aside from talking about Scott Feldman on this last game of the year against Houston, it seems like a good time to just take a look at Jose Altuve's contract and be reminded of the extreme value that the Astros are receiving from the Venezuelan. The second baseman who has nearly eclipsed 4.0 WAR this year is being paid $1.25 million in what would have been his final pre-arbitration year if he hadn't signed his four-year extension last season. Houston also bought out his arbitration years for $2.5, $3.5, and $4.5 million respectively. Beyond that, there's also two options tacked on to the end of the contract for $6.0 and $6.5 million. If Altuve continues to produce at his current rate, this contract has to be considered one of the biggest steals in the league. Bravo Jeff Luhnow.

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera DH
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Dioner Navarro C
5. Colby Rasmus CF
6. Juan Francisco 1B
7. Munenori Kawasaki 3B
8. Anthony Gose LF
9. Ryan Goins 2B

Bullpen Usage

Blue Jays

• Yesterday-Brett Cecil (0.0 IP, 10 pitches), Chad Jenkins (1.0 IP, 12 pitches).
• Two Days Ago- Aaron Loup (0.1 IP, 7 pitches), Chad Jenkins (0.2 IP, 7 pitches).

Astros

• Yesterday- Mike Foltynewicz (0.2 IP, 12 pitches), Tony Sipp (0.1 IP, 1 pitch), Paul Clemens (1.0 IP, 17 pitches).
• Two Days Ago- Darin Downs (1.0 IP, 8 pitches), Jose Veras (0.2 IP, 8 pitches), Chad Qualls (1.0 IP ,14 pitches).

Find The Link

Find the link between Scott Feldman and the subject of this fantastic Red Sox rant.

Houston is primed to take three of four from the Blue Jays.

Houston Astros (46-65) vs.Toronto Blue Jays (60-52), 1:10 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV 
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Blue Jays SBNation Blog: Bluebird Banter

Pitching matchup

RHP Scott Feldman (4-8, 4.39 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (7-2, 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP)

Preview

The Astros have outscored the Blue Jays 11-3 in their last two games. Sure, eight of those runs came on Saturday, but both are still wins. Houston sends out their veteran in game four of their series with the Blue Jays. Scott Feldman makes his twenty start this season. In the month of July, Feldman posted a record of 0-3 over five games with an ERA of 5.58. But, Feldman returned to his earlier form in 2014 in his last start - holding the A's to one run over seven innings on July 29.

Feldman has keep the current active roster for the Blue Jays in check for the most part in their previous at-bats, expect for three guys - Jose Bautista, Adam Lind, and Jose Reyes. Bautista is 5-for-13 with three extra-base hits against Feldman in his career. Lind is 7-for-20 against Feldman with three home runs. Reyes is 4-for-7.

One of the Jay's top prospects Marcus Stroman made his major league debut in May 2014 - he hasn't disappointed thus far. He has allowed one earned run over his last 21 innings (three starts). Stroman has a 2.18 ERA over his appearances in the months of June and July. Stroman sports a fastball in the mid 90s with good movement, and gets batters out with a plus slider and cutter.

Stroman will have to deal with some streaking Astros hitters. Jon Singleton is batting .300 with four home runs, seven RBIs, and five walks in his last seven games. Jason Castro is over .300 as well and showing he can turn on pitches inside on his hands once again. Jose Altuve is being Jose Altuve, batting .366 in his last ten games with four stolen bases. Watch out Major League Baseball, Chris Carter may have figure things out. Carter is batting .289 (24-83) with 14 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs in the month of July.

Now that we've had some time to breathe after the whirlwind of activity at the trade deadline, here's a look at the fallout from a Yankees perspective.

The dust is finally settling after an explosive MLB trade deadline that involved the Yankees as well as some of their closest competitors. Let's take a look at the impact of all these moves to the Yankees, Clint Eastwood-style.

The Good

The Yankees improved their team. In the deals leading up to the deadline and just minutes before the deadline past, they acquired solid players that deserve an everyday starting gig to replace spare parts that weren't getting the job done. Chase Headley, Martin Prado, and Stephen Drew can all hold their own at the plate and with the glove. The Yankees were starved for players that could do that consistently outside of Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury. On top of the lineup help, they also brought in a league average starting pitcher in Brandon McCarthy. Another welcome addition to a starting rotation that can't get healthy.

The trades that brought these guys in also didn't require any major prospects to be shipped out. In fact, some of these trades helped clear some dead weight from the roster. Most Yankee fans probably would have paid good money to never see Vidal Nuno, Brian Roberts, or Kelly Johnson play in pinstripes again and now that's a reality. In the case of Nuno and Johnson, the Yankees even got something of value in return for their departure. Cashman may still wield a ninja sword after all.

The Bad

While Cashman can still swing that sword, it may need a little sharpening. The four players added to the roster are good enough to start on this team, but that's not saying much. The Yankees are lucky to be above .500 right now and need a lot more help than the marginal improvements made in these deals if they want to be a playoff contender. These trades also continue two disturbing trends that the Yankees have become accustomed to over the past few years. First, they are all on the wrong side of 30 and at best will serve as just a band aid for this year and/or next. Secondly, they are asking Drew and Prado to play positions that they have never played at the major league level (unless you count Prado's two innings in right field five years ago). At least there's the comic relief aspect.

While the Yankees made small, short term moves, three other AL East teams either stockpiled some talent to improve the team over the next couple years (Red Sox, Rays) or made a move to improve their immediate chances at success (Orioles). This further marginalizes the Yankees modest improvement. Only the Blue Jays stood pat, but they are arguably the most talented team in the division at the moment.

The presence of Prado on the roster for next year also could make it even more difficult for Rob Refsnyder to break into the big leagues. If Brian Roberts was a more attractive option at second base to Cashman up to this point then Prado will look like Joe Morgan to him next year.

The Ugly

Speaking of Brian Roberts, the Yankees have shown all-around bad form when dealing with him this year. Signing him in the first place was a bad baseball decision. The injury prone 36 year old hadn't played meaningful baseball since 2009 and struggled to produce in the brief moments that he was healthy. Still, the Yankees made it clear that they were going to rely on him and only him to play second base in 2014. Surprisingly, he avoided injury and took his spot at the bottom of the lineup everyday. Unsurprisingly, his mediocre play left a lot to be desired. The Yankees turned a blind eye to this, though, and continued to run him into the ground, even as his play continued to deteriorate.

Just minutes before the deadline, the Yankees then found their replacement for Roberts in Stephen Drew. They fessed up to their mistake three months too late and finally designated Roberts for assignment. The problem is, they did this when Roberts was just two plate appearances away from reaching a $250,000 performance bonus. The timing of the move seems a bit cruel. The franchise curiously trusted him to start everyday, despite his limitations, until it was time for the likely last major payday of his career. This is the same franchise that has paid Ichiro Suzuki $13 million over the past two years to be one of the worst outfielders in major league baseball. Just another soulless move by a franchise that is starting to be defined by them.

Blue Jays 1 Astros 6 (only 6? it seemed like so many more than 6)

I really feel like writing that the players are 'down' because we didn't pick up anyone at the trade deadline. That the lack of a 'sign of confidence' from management has ripped the energy out of the team. That they really needed the boost of big name addition to tell them they can win this thing.

I want to write that, because it seems like the sort of narrative that I should be selling.

But I don't buy that stuff, and I'm sure most of you guys don't believe it either.

That was just a sad game. Stroman wasn't good. Well, he looked good in the first inning. But then he gave up 2 runs in the 3rd and 3 more in the 4th, without getting an out in the 4th. He has been so good, he's allowed a bad game.

Todd Redmond really wasn't much better, coming in with two on, given an out on a sac bunt, then a intentional walk (I hate intentional walks) and a bases load walk and another run scores. It was so bad that, for the second game in a row, we made an error on a pickoff throw to first, letting a runner move from first to third.

On offense....well in the first 3 innings we had 6 hits and 2 walks in the first 3 innings, but only scored 1 run. After that Scott Feldman only faced 1 batter above the minimum the rest of the way to a complete game. A pretty easy complete game. We hit into 3 double plays.

We had 8 hits in all, all singles. Jose Reyes had 3 of them. and I figured he was out of the game after hurting his shoulder, sliding into 2nd on to lead off the game. I thought he should have been pulled from the game, why take a chance, but Reyes seemed fine.

There was very little good about that game, other than Reyes and Aaron Sanchez and Dustin McGowan pitching a perfect inning of relief each.

No Jays of the Day today. Suckage goes to Stroman (-.300 WPA, I think Gibby should stop having him more throw more than 110 pitches in a game, it seems to effect him on his next start), Juan Francisco (-.111, 1 for 4, including a very badly timed double play ball, first pitch swinging).

Tomorrow is a much needed day off for the Jays. Then a big series with the Orioles. Hopefully we'll see a better effort in those games. Maybe we could active Lawrie?

We had 564 comments in a rather (understandably) grumpy GameThread. Pikachu led the way. Good work.

The Smokies used great pitching and Addision Russell to get to within a half game of first. Iowa couldn't take advantage of Javy Baez heroics and fell a half game out of first. And the Cougars keep winning, even though it's not necessary.

Congratulations to Jorge Soler, your choice for the BCB Cubs Minor League Player of the Month!

I'll leave the voting for the Pitcher of the Month open until the Minor League Wrap tomorrow. So be sure to vote.

Iowa Cubs

Despite a pair of Javier Baez home runs, the Iowa Cubs were beaten by the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 7-5.

Dae-Eun Rhee had his worst start since being promoted to Iowa a month ago. He was touched for seven runs on ten hits over five innings. Three of those ten hits were solo home runs. Rhee struck out four and walked one.

Armando Rivero threw two innings of scoreless relief without allowing a hit. He walked one and struck out three.

Baez hit solo home runs in the top of the first and sixth innings. He now has 23 home runs this season. Baez went 2 for 3 with two walks. He scored three times. Baez did make an error, but he was playing shortstop this evening.

DH Josh Vitters went 3 for 4 with a double. Center fielder Matt Szczur was 2 for 5.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies speared the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Reds), 4-1.

Pierce Johnson dominated the Blue Wahoos for 6+ innings. Johnson had a no-hitter going until two outs in the sixth when he gave up a hit to the opposing pitcher Robert Stephenson. He had also faced the minimum up to that point, as the one batter he walked he picked off first base. He exited after giving up a second single to start the seventh inning. Johnson struck out six.

Shortstop Addison Russell gave Johnson all the runs he would need with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was Russell's ninth home run and eighth with the Smokies. He was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Left fielder Lars Anderson was 1 for 3 with a two-run double in the sixth inning.

Daytona Cubs

They got four batters in before the rains came. Daytona and Charlotte are scoreless in Port Charlotte, bottom of the first.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars indicted the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros), 9-5.

Daury Torrrez won his tenth game, which ties him for the league lead. Torrez allowed three runs on five hits over six innings. The three runs scored on a two-run home run in the fourth inning and a solo shot in the sixth. He struck out six and walked one.

Catcher Cael Brockmeyer hit his fifth home run of the season in the sixth inning with the bases empty. Brockmeyer was 3 for 5 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Shortstop Danny Lockhart was 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He stole a base and scored twice.

Victor Caratini was the DH today and was 2 for 5 with one RBI.

Second baseman Chesny Young went 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Right fielder Jeffrey Baez had a double and a triple in a 2 for 3 afternoon. He also walked once. Baez scored two runs and had two RBI.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks canned the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays), 3-2.

Starter Trevor Clifton allowed only one hit and two walks through five scoreless innings. Clifton struck out six and picked up his third win of the season.

Brad Markey pitched the final two innings and got his second save. He gave up three hits but no runs. Markey struck out four and didn't walk anyone

Second baseman David Bote hit a solo home run in the third inning, which was his second of the season. He also opened up the scoring with an RBI single int he bottom of the first inning. Bote was 2 for 4.

Center fielder Rashad Crawford was 2 for 4 and scored twice. He also stole his 12th base of the season.

AZL Cubs

Also rained out.

After leaving last night's game with right elbow soreness, who can fill in for David Phelps if he needs to miss a start?

David Phelps left last night's game with inflammation near his right elbow, continuing this season's trend of injuries to the rotation. The Yankees have since said that they're "confident it's not a ligament issue" and it sounds as though Phelps has been experiencing the soreness for several weeks, and previously had an MRI on it, which came back clean. In the event that Phelps does need to miss time, there are not a whole lot of options as to who could take his place in the rotation.

One of those options is Bryan Mitchell, who has done a lot of traveling back and forth between the majors and the minors this season, yet hasn't made it into a single game for the Yankees. Mitchell began the season in Double-A, where he pitched 61.1 innings with a 4.84 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 8.80 K/9, and 4.26 BB/9. Since being promoted to Triple-A, he has a 2.88 ERA and 4.98 FIP, with a 1.44 WHIP through 25 IP. He might be the best option to fill in for Phelps of the players already on the 40-man roster.

The Yankees could also have David Huff make a spot start, but if he had to join the rotation, then Esmil Rogers would be the only long reliever in the bullpen. Huff has been good in relief, sporting a 1.93 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 23.1 innings with the Yankees. Opponents are only hitting .227 against him. Although he has experience starting for the Yankees, it might be better to leave him in the bullpen because he has done well there. Plus, they would probably need to call someone up to take his spot in the pen, if he did replace Phelps, in which case it might make more sense for Mitchell to start instead of moving everyone around.

Recent addition Esmil Rogers is another option. He came to the Yankees from the Blue Jays, where most of his appearances came as a starter. It is not difficult to see why he lost that job. Through 20.2 innings, he had a 6.97 ERA, 5.41 FIP, 4.03 xFIP, and a 1.69 WHIP. Whew, that is ugly. While he did have a high number of strikeouts, 9.15 K/9, he also allowed quite a few home runs (2.18 HR/9). Rogers pitched well during three innings of relief last night, allowing no hits, one walk, and recording three strikeouts, but Mitchell and Huff both stand out as better candidates to start for Phelps if it comes to that.

Anyone clamoring for Chase Whitley to rejoin the rotation should be mindful that he has never pitched more than 81 innings in a single season, and he's already reached 88.1 this season. There is very little chance of him moving out of the bullpen now. Hopefully Phelps' arm is okay after a few days, and he only needs to miss one start, if that. Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka, the team misses you, and you cannot return soon enough.

Who would you like to see take Phelps spot, if the elbow injury causes him to miss a start?

You know that trades can be made after July 31 by acquiring waivers on players. How is this done? The explanation is below.

Though the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline has passed, teams can -- and some surely will -- make deals through August 31 (the deadline for placing players on postseason rosters) or even in September (to get help they might not be able to get otherwise).

"Non-waiver" is the key to all of this; waivers must be obtained on players that teams wish to trade. Waivers can be requested on players throughout the season; these types of waivers are described in the table below, which is courtesy of this excellent explainer from our SB Nation Blue Jays site, Bluebird Banter. The waivers required for deals made past July 31 are "Trade Assignment Waivers":

So if the Cubs wish to trade, say, Nate Schierholtz or Edwin Jackson, or anyone else on the team, here's the procedure they must follow, also from the Bluebird Banter article:

 Club registers a request for waivers with the Office of the Commissioner
 Notice of waiver request is given out on a private channel to all major league clubs
 Other clubs have two days to submit a claim
 If a club claims a player on revocable waivers, the Commissioner will automatically revoke the waiver request unless the club notifies his office that they do not wish a withdrawal.
 If there is no claim, the after two days, the player "clears" waivers and can be assigned or released. If there is a claim, the player is granted to the team with the highest claiming priority.

"Highest claiming priority" for August trades goes first to teams with the worst records, in reverse order, in the trading team's league, and then to the other league. As noted in the Bluebird Banter post, this is why you see more intraleague deals after July 31 than interleague swaps.

A reminder, this means that just because you hear a player has been "waived," it doesn't mean that player is going to be traded. As noted above, this is supposed to be on a "private channel" -- but often, that "private" word goes public, and Twitter comes alive with breathless "Soandso has been waived!" tweets, which mean virtually nothing. There's a reason these types of waivers are called "revocable" -- it means, as shown, that those waivers can be revoked unless the team in question says to the claiming team, "Here, he's yours," as happened August 10, 2009, when the White Sox claimed Alex Rios from the Blue Jays and Toronto simply let the Sox have his contract.

"Assigned" as stated in the procedure above means, effectively, the waiving team can then trade the player ("assign his contract" is the official language used) since he has cleared waivers.

Thanks again to Bluebird Banter for the table and the explanation. Hope this makes it easier for you to understand how trades go down in August.