The Marlins have signed 33-year old righty swinging catcher Mike Rivera to a minor league deal. Rivera has played in 73 games in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 53 of 233 (.227 avg, .702 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers and 24 RBIs. Rivera has played in 181 games in 7 years in the majors and he is 129 of 528 (.244 avg, .688 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 13 homers, 69 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. I don’t see Rivera staying in the minors too long as the Marlins need help behind the plate right now.

The Marlins have lost 29-year old righty swinging CF Cody Ross on waivers to the Giants. Ross played in 120 games for the Fish this year and he was 120 of 452 (.265 avg, .721 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 11 homers, 58 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. In five years with the Marlins, Ross played in 573 games in which he was 502 of 1,895 (.265 avg, .788 OPS) with 257 runs scored, 80 homers, 297 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. The Marlins have called up Cameron Maybin to replace Ross in CF. This was a bad move for the Marlins who only get salary relief for losing Ross. They could have got something for him at the trade deadline.

The Marlins have signed 30-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Chad Tracy. Tracy has played in 28 games this season for the Cubs and he was 11 of 44 (.250 avg, .622 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 5 RBIs. He has now played in 732 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 665 of 2,382 (.279 avg, .788 OPS) with 299 runs scored, 78 homers, 323 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Tracy will immediately improve the Marlins bench. The Marlins have demoted 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Bryan Petersen to make room on the roster for Tracy. Petersen played in 23 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 2 of 24 (.083 avg, .203 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs.

The Marlins have designated 32-year old righty reliever Jorge Sosa for assignment. Sosa pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he was 2-2 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. The Marlins let Sosa go because they needed the roster spot for 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Sean West. West started for the Marlins yesterday and he worked 5 innings allowing 9 hits, 4 earned runs and he walked 1 batter. 2 of the hits he gave up were homers and he struck out 4 batters. West pitched in 20 games (all starts) in his first taste of the majors for the Marlins in 2009 and he was 8-6 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.

The Marlins have acquired 32-year old lefty reliever Will Ohman from the Orioles for 25-year old righty starting pitcher Rick VandenHurk. Ohman has pitched in 51 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he is 0-0 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has now pitched in 375 games (0 starts) in 8 years in the majors and he is 11-9 with 3 saves, a 4.14 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Rick VandenHurk pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. VandenHurk pitched in 35 games (32 starts) in his four years with the Marlins and he was 8-9 with a 5.96 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. This was a good trade for the Marlins as it was a move made with the idea of making a run for the playoffs.