The Tigers have acquired lefty reliever Clay Rapada from the Cubs to finish the Craig Monroe trade.  Rapada has pitched in 55 AAA games this season and he is 7-2 with 17 saves, a 3.58 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.  In 55.1 innings this season he has allowed 55 hits, walked 25 batters and whiffed 50.  The Tigers may call Rapada up tomorrow to give them some help from the left side of the bullpen.  The Tigers also acquired 24 year righty Chris Lambert to complete the Mike Maroth trade.  He has pitched in 33 games (9 starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 1-6 with a 6.21 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.  He has worked 84 innings in the minors this season and he has allowed 98 hits, 15 homers, walked 37 batters and whiffed 67.

The Tigers have placed Gary Sheffield on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulded.  This comes at a bad time for the Tigers who are in a battle to make the playoffs.  Sheffield has played in 114 games this season for the Tigers and he is 120 for 430 (.279 avg, .878 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 24 homers, 71 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  The Tigers will likely depend on Marcus Thames to replace Sheffield’s power in the starting lineup.  In 71 games for the Tigers this season Thames is 55 for 222 (.248 avg, .777 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 15 homers and 43 RBIs.  To replace Sheffield on the roster the Tigers have recalled veteran outfielder Timo Perez from AAA.  Perez has played in 6 games this season for the Tigers and he is 6 for 19 (.316 avg, .935 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI.

Magglio Ordonez would be the MVP in any other season but he likely will finish #2 to A-Rod if they both stay healthy.  Ordonez has really been awesome in August and the Tigers really have needed it.  He has played in 20 games in August this year and he is 29 for 77 (.377 avg, 1.162 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 8 homers and 25 RBIs.  Ordonez has now played in 124 games this season and he is 164 for 468 (.350 avg, 1.015 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 24 homers and 113 RBIs!

The Tigers have activated reliever Joel Zumaya from the disabled list.  He looked good last night as he was hitting the high 90’s on the radar gun in his first game back against the Indians.  He has only pitched in 14 games this season for the Tigers and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 3.57 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  He has worked 17.2 innings for the Tigers this season and he has allowed 13 hits, walked 11 batters and whiffed 17.  The Tigers have sent Aquilino Lopez to the minors to make room for Zumaya in the bullpen.  Lopez has pitched in 10 games this season for the Tigers and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 5.19 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  He will likely get recalled when rosters expand on September 1st.

The Tigers changed the face of their roster with two big moves today and they were surprising to say the least.  The Tigers have designated outfielder Craig Monroe for assignment and they have sent Omar Infante to AAA.  The called up elite prospect Cameron Maybin and shortstop Ramon Santiago to replace them.  Monroe has had a rough season to say the least but he didn’t deserve to get treated like this by the Tigers.  He played in 99 games this season for the Tigers and he was 76 for 343 (.222 avg, .637 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 11 homers and 55 RBIs.  Monroe has also whiffed 94 times this season which had to bother Jim Leyland.  The Tigers should have no problem making a trade involving Craig Monroe soon as their is no way he would clear waivers.  Omar Infante is being sent down because of his defense according to the Tigers’ front office.  I find that kind of amusing seeing how he never gets to settle in to one position.  Infante has played in 59 games this season for the Tigers and he was 43 for 156 (.276 avg, .668 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  Cameron Maybin will likely get most of the playing time in left field….in fact he’s making his major league debut tonight against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium…..and he’s batting 2nd!  No pressure there!   Maybin bats right-handed and he’s only 20 years old but he as been stinging minor league pitching at 3 levels, the highest of which was AA ball.  Maybin played in 91 games in the minors this season and he was 102 for 323 (.316 avg, .932 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 14 homers, 53 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.  The Tigers hope Maybin can give the offense another shot in the arm.  Ramon Santiago was called up for his defense in the middle infield.  The 27 year old switch hitter was playing in AAA where he was 96 for 365 (.263 avg, .671 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 3 homers, 30 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  It will be interesting to see how these moves pay off for the Tigers.