The Astros have claimed 26-year old righty swinging infielder Matt Downs off waivers from the Giants. Downs played in 29 games for the Giants this year and he is 19 of 78 (.244 avg, .690 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He has now played in 46 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 28 of 131 (.214 avg, .619 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Astros will start Downs out in AAA but he will likely get called up when rosters expand on September 1st.

The Astros have traded 35-year old righty swinging 3B Pedro Feliz and cash to the Cardinals for 25-year old righty reliever David Carpenter. Feliz was a total bust for the Astros this year. He played in 97 games for the Astros this year and he was 64 of 289 (.221 avg, .555 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 4 homers and 31 RBIs. Feliz lost his starting job to Chris Johnson who has been rather impressive so the Astros had no need for him anymore. Carpenter has pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in A-ball this year and he was 5-3 with 20 saves, a 2.36 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In his three years in the minors he has pitched in 116 games (0 starts) in which he is 10-6 with 35 saves, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. While not one of the Cardinals’ better prospects, Carpenter still has been impressive in his minor league career so I like this deal for the Astros.

The Astros have released 28-year old righty reliever Brad Thompson. Thompson pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 1-1 with a 8.87 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. He allowed a whopping 41 hits in only 23 1/3 innings in AAA so the Astros knew he wasn’t going to help them any time soon. They won’t miss him at all.

The Astros have designated 27-year old switch hitting infielder Anderson Hernandez for assignment. He played in only six games for the Astros and he was 2 of 13 (.154 avg, .445 OPS) with 2 runs scored. The Astros needed Hernandez’ roster spot to activate Geoff Blum from the D.L. Blum has played in 59 games for the Astros this year and he is 33 of 137 (.241 avg, .618 OPS) with 15 runs scored and 14 RBIs.

The Astros have dealt 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Tyler Lumsden to the Padres for cash considerations. Lumsden pitched in 22 games (18 starts) in AA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 4-9 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has pitched in 147 games (93 starts) in his six years in the minors and he is 32-38 with 1 save, a 4.74 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The Astros saw enough of Lumsden the last couple of years to know that he wasn’t going to help them any time soon.