The Twins have acquired 27-year old righty swinging catcher Jeff Howell from the Royals for future considerations. Howell has played in 50 games in AA+AAA-ball this season and he is 42 of 174 (.241 avg, .683 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 4 homers and 27 RBIs. He has now played in 411 games in six years in the minors and he is 364 of 1,399 (.260 avg, .702 OPS) with 163 runs scored, 23 homers and 172 RBIs. This was a trade made to improve the organizational depth behind the plate so I like it for the Twins.

With the acquisition of closer Matt Capps last night the Twins will use Jon Rauch in the 8th inning now. Rauch has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Twins this season and he is 2-1 with 21 saves, a 3.05 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Rauch did a solid job as the closer for the Twins but he will also likely be solid in a set-up role making the Twins’ bullpen even stronger.

The Twins have sent 28-year old righty starter/reliever Nick Blackburn to AAA to make room on the roster for Matt Capps. Blackburn has pitched in 19 games (18 starts) for the Twins this season and he is 7-7 with a 6.66 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has given up 148 hits (19 homers) in only 104 innings for the Twins this season and that is downright awful. Blackburn will have to learn how to miss some bats before he gets another chance for the Twins this season. This is addition by subtraction for the Twins’ pitching staff.

The Twins have placed 32-year old switch hitting infielder Nick Punto on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring. Punto has played in 80 games for the Twins this season and he is 58 of 231 (.251 avg, .642 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 1 homer, 20 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Twins have called up 24-year old righty swinging infielder Trevor Plouffe to replace Punto on the bench. Plouffe has played in 7 games for the Twins this season and he is 3 of 23 (.130 avg, .299 OPS) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs.

The Twins have acquired 26-year old righty reliever Matt Capps from the Nationals for 22-year old righty swinging catcher Wilson Ramos and 24-year old lefty reliever Joe Testa. Capps pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he was 3-3 with 26 saves, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has only walked 9 batters in only 46 innings for the Nationals this season so he should fit right in with the Twins who stress throwing strikes. Capps has now pitched in 318 games (0 starts) in his six years in the majors and he is 22-22 with 93 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Ramos played in 7 games for the Twins this year and he was 8 of 27 (.296 avg, .729 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 71 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 67 of 278 (.241 avg, .625 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers and 30 RBIs. Despite his rough season in the minors, Ramos came into this season as the Twins’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Joe Testa pitched in 36 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball this season and he was 2-5 with 1 save, a 5.50 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. On the surface it seems like the Twins paid a pretty high price for Capps. But Ramos is blocked by Joe Mauer for the catching job on the Twins and he would never beat him out. Capps will take over as the Twins’ closer bumping Jon Rauch to set up work.