The Rays have acquired 30-year old righty swinging Michel Hernandez from the Pirates for cash considerations. Hernandez played in 76 games in AAA ball this season and he was 67 for 252 (.266 avg, .690 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. Acquiring Hernandez shows that the Rays might be starting to be concerned about Dioner Navarro’s injury. Hernandez has only played in 5 games in his major league career (2003 Yankees) and he was 1 for 4 (.250 avg). This was another shrewd move by the Rays’ front office as he likely didn’t cost them much money to acquire.

The Rays have acquired 33-year old righty swinging infielder Jorge Velandia from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. Velandia played really well for the Devil Rays last September and the team apparently did not forget that. Velandia has played in 112 games in AAA this season and he was 103 for 413 (.249 avg, .660 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 6 homers and 33 RBIs. Velandia has also played in 13 games for the Blue Jays and Indians this season and he is 3 for 22 (.136 avg, .356 OPS) with 1 run scored. The Rays don’t expect miracles out of Velandia but they just hope he plays well when they need him. Velandia has now played in 174 games in his major league career and he is 46 for 244 (.189 avg, .544 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 2 homers, 23 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This was a solid move for the Rays who probably didn’t give the Indians much cash for him.

The Rays have released 28-year old lefty reliever Kurt Birkins. Birkins pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Rays this season and he was 0-0 with a 0.90 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. But, he was awful in AAA this season as he worked in 36 games (1 start) and he was 2-3 with a 7.52 ERA and a 2.09 WHIP. The reason for getting Birkins off the roster is to make room for callups next week.

Carlos Pena is really heating up for the Rays who need his stick big time with the losses of Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford. Pena is 37 for 139 (.266 avg) in July and August and he has scored 28 runs, cranked 13 homers and driven in 31 runs in a very impressive run that the Rays need him to continue. Carlos Pena’s overall numbers are starting to look better after a very slow start to the season. Pena has now played in 100 games this season and he is 88 for 362 (.243 avg, .850 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 24 homers and 68 RBIs. The Rays need Pena more now than ever to hold off the Red Sox who are 3.5 games behind them in the American League East.

The Rays have recalled 29-year old righty reliever Juan Salas to replace Troy Percival in the bullpen. Salas has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 4-5 with 1 save, a 2.62 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Salas has been dominating in AAA whiffing 53 batters in only 44.2 innings which shows that his stuff is still pretty good. Salas has also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-1 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Salas will probably pitch early in games for the Rays but he should do a good job.