The Houston Astros have claimed 24-year old righty reliever Alberto Arias off waivers from the Rockies. Arias pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this season and he was 0-0 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Arias did not fare as well in AAA ball this season however as he worked in 30 games (0 starts) and he was 3-4 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Astros will start Arias out in AAA but if he looks good there he will likely get a quick call up as they need bullpen help.

The Astros refuse to raise the White Flag on the 2008 season as they brought in another veteran pitcher today. The Astros have acquired 35-year old righty reliever LaTroy Hawkins from the Yankees for 22-year old 2B Matt Cusick. Hawkins was pretty bad for the Yankees this season and the Astros are banking on a change of scenery rejuvenating him. Hawkins pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he was 1-1 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 664 games (98 starts) in his major league career and he is 57-77 with 75 saves, a 4.72 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Hawkins still has good velocity on his fastball so he could help the Astros the rest of the way.

22-year old lefty swinging 2B Matt Cusick was the Astros’ #29 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 93 games in A-ball for the Astros this season and he was 99 for 348 (.284 avg, .811 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 36 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.

Don’t let the Astros fool you because they added Randy Wolf in a trade last week as they are likely going to be sellers next week. The Astros are 46-55 this season which has them in last place in the National League Central, 13.5 games behind the Cubs. They are also 12.5 games behind the Brewers for the Wild Card. I tend to think that the Astros traded for Wolf with the idea of flipping him for something better than Chad Reineke who they traded for him. Look for the Astros to attempt to move Ty Wigginton, Mark Loretta, Geoff Blum, Darin Erstad, Brian Moehler and Doug Brocail. They could even expand the bloodletting more if teams make solid offers for some of the core players on the Astros. The Astros don’t have a lot in the farm system as far as up and coming players so it makes sense to wave the White Flag and acquire as many good young players as they can get there hands on.

With the Astros feeling they still have a chance at the playoffs they had to send Towles to the minors. He has been simply awful this season for the Astros. He has played in 50 games for the Astros this season and he is 20 for 140 (.143 avg, .519 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. In July, he played in 8 games for the Astros and he was 3 for 23 (.130 avg, .341 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. The Astros have activated Humberto Quintero off the D.L. to replace Towles. Quintero has played in 16 games for the Astros this season and he is 10 for 45 (.222 avg, .489 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI.

The Astros have designated righty reliever Dave Borkowski for assignment. He pitched in 22 games for the Astros this season out of the bullpen and he was 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. This was a move that had to be made as Borkowski has been throwing batting practice all season long for the Astros.