The Astros have placed catcher Humberto Quintero on the 15-day disabled list due to a concussion. Quintero has played in 15 games for the Astros this season and he is 10 for 41 (.244 avg, .537 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. The Astros have recalled J.R. Towles from AAA ball and they will give him another chance to establish himself as a starting catcher at the major league level. He has played in 43 games for the Astros this season and he is 18 for 120 (.150 avg, .564 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 14 RBIs. Towles did seem to get it together in AAA ball so it will be interesting to see if he’s made any adjustments or not. Towles played in 19 games in AAA ball this season and he was 17 for 61 (.279 avg, .954 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 11 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Towles immediate future might be decided in the next few weeks as the Astros may pursue a veteran catcher next season either thru free agency or a trade if Towles doesn’t shape up.

The Astros have designated righty reliever Oscar Villarreal for assignment. He has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The Astros have recalled righty reliever Dave Borkowski from AAA ball to replace Villarreal in the bullpen. Borkowski has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 0-2 with a 6.86 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. Don’t expect much out of Borkowski who has never been that good of a pitcher at the major league level.

Every few seasons Brian Moehler decides that he doesn’t stink and this appears to be one of those years. Moehler has pitched in 15 games (10 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. With a lot of the Astros’ starting pitchers either getting injured or just flat out going into the tank…..Moehler has been a godsend for them. If the Astros decide to sell at the trading deadline and Moehler is still pitching good they might be able to get a prospect for him.

The Astros have recalled 30-year old righty starting pitcher Runelvys Hernandez to replace Shawn Chacon in the starting rotation. He started 15 games in AAA ball this season and he was 6-3 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He also has started 1 game for the Astros this season and he is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Hernandez was once one of the brightest prospects in the Royals’ minor league system but he is running out of time to establish himself in the major leagues. He has pitched in 79 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 25-34 with a 5.38 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

No matter how bad a GM is talking about you it’s not smart to choke slam him like a pro wrestler but that’s exactly what Shawn Chacon did to Astros’ GM Ed Wade. Chacon will likely never pitch for the Astros again and he really doesn’t have any worth in the trade market because of this incident. Chacon has started 15 games for the Astros this season and he is 2-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

UPDATE: The Astros have waived Shawn Chacon.