The Bucs landing Josh Phelps from the Yankees has been one of the better waiver claims of the year

Injuries, moves, rumors and newsmakers...

August hasn't been much fun for Padres great Trevor Hoffman; Josh Phelps is proving a waiver steal in Pittsburgh; Josh Willingham has the latest big RBI game; Boomer heads to L.A.; the Cubs land Craig Monroe; and more...
 

  AWFUL AUGUST

The August struggles continue for all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman when his team needs him most, as his Padres try to hang on to their slim Wild-Card lead.

Before August 10 he had blown just two save attempts all season, but Thursday night he blew his third of the month, though he was awarded with the win thanks to some support by the offense.

Through August 4, he had a 1.61 ERA on the year, but in seven appearances since then he's allowed seven runs (six earned) in 6.0 innings for a 9.00 ERA. However, he still ranks fourth in the NL with 32 saves.

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  WAIVER MADNESS

The Bucs landing Josh Phelps from the Yankees has been one of the better waiver claims of the year. Though the big slugger wasn't doing poorly on the Yanks' bench, he wasn't being used much, so they let him go.

And while he's still far from an everyday player in Pittsburgh, he's been remarkably productive since the June 22 acquisition. Thursday afternoon he got the start at first base, his first start since August 13, and went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. With that, he's batting .432 (19-for-44) in 30 games with the Pirates, with four homers and 14 RBIs.

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ANGELS 
After looking good on August 17, called up to start a doubleheader after a month in the minors, the Angels have decided to keep sophomore righty Ervin Santana in the rotation. He made the start Thursday and allowed five runs in a 6.0-inning loss, so they may re-think sending Dustin Moseley to the bullpen. Moseley made his first relief appearance in a month Thursday night.

BRAVES 
Keep hot-hitting rookie shortstop Yunel Escobar in your fantasy lineups for a while longer. Though starting shortstop Edgar Renteria returned from the DL on Wednesday, he immediately re-aggravated his ankle injury and was placed right back on the DL, which keeps the kid in the Braves' lineup. Young infielder Martin Prado was recalled to serve a backup role.

CUBS 
Attempting to address their needs in the outfield for the stretch drive, the Cubs acquired Craig Monroe from the Tigers for a player to be named later...

DODGERS 
Big David Wells is poised to take revenge on his former team after signing with the Dodgers on Thursday. The 44-year-old southpaw was designated for assignment by the rival Padres earlier this month after a few rough starts, but he's now set to join the L.A. rotation Sunday, as Brett Tomko heads back to the bullpen. The Dodgers are 2.5 games behind the NL-Wild-Card-leading Padres.

GIANTS 
Finally, for the first time all year, hard-luck sophomore Matt Cain won back-to-back starts, improving to 6-13 with Thursday's win. With 7.0 one-run innings, he dropped his ERA down to 3.67. Always lacking in run support this season, he accounted for two runs in the 4-1 victory with a two-run homer. This is the second time this year he had to hit a home run by himself to give himself a win, having launched his first round-tripper on August 8.

MARINERS 
After two weeks with the Mariners, lefty John Parrish has been designated for assignment. Traded from the Orioles on August 9, he allowed five runs in 5.1 innings of relief with Seattle. Journeyman reliever Rick White was called up to take his place in the bullpen. The Mariners become his 11th different big-league club.

MARLINS 
Hitters are having career-best RBI games all over the place these days. On Tuesday there was Garret Anderson's 10 RBIs, followed by seven each from Rangers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez on Thursday. And Thursday the big bat of the day was in the hands of Florida sophomore Josh Willingham. The left-fielder clubbed two home runs, including a grand slam, to drive in a career-best six runs in the Marlins' 11-3 victory in St. Louis.

RANGERS 
His playing time drastically cut since the acquisition of Saltalamacchia, backup catcher Adam Melhuse was predictably designated for assignment on Thursday. Curiously, Melhuse was also bumped for playing time in Oakland this year before a June trade to Texas. The Rangers called up reliever Scott Feldman to take his place on the roster. This is the big righty's sixth stint with the big club this year, posting a nasty 6.00 ERA in 25 previous appearances... Meanwhile, the Rangers got some rough news on Thursday, with setup man Akinori Otsuka likely done for the season. He went down with an elbow injury just before the break and would have taken the closer's role after Eric Gagne was traded on July 31 had he been healthy. But lefty C.J. Wilson has done a very good job in the role with Otsuka out.

RED SOX 
Having been roughed up in a few of his recent starts, the Red Sox have sent young lefty Jon Lester down to Double-A Portland for one start to see if he can regain some confidence before a planned return to the majors September 2. Veteran righty Julian Tavarez is expected to come back out of the bullpen to take Lester's place on Sunday. In the meantime, the club has added an extra reliever to the bullpen in lefty Javier Lopez, who had been demoted earlier this month despite a strong 2.87 ERA in 44 appearances.

TWINS 
Enjoying a breakout season in the minors this year, third baseman Brian Buscher is back up with the Twins and figures to get fairly regular playing time ahead of the brutal bat of Nick Punto. Buscher went just 5-for-22 in his first, brief stint in the majors earlier this year, but has hit a combined .304 with 14 homers and 59 RBIs in 103 games at two minor-league levels. To make room for him, backup infielder Tommy Watkins was placed on the DL with strained abdominal muscles.