26-year old righty swinging infielder Luke Hughes has been red hot with the bat in August for the Twins. Hughes has played in 8 games in August and he is 9 for 28 (.321 avg) with 4 runs scored, 3 homers and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 71 games for the Twins so far this year and he is 51 for 208 (.245 avg, .686 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers, 24 RBIs andd 1 stolen base. Hughes is playing himself into a job for the 2012 season with the Twins, as he has been very impressive lately.

The Twins have dealt 40-year old lefty swinging DH Jim Thome to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later. Thome played in 71 games for the Twins this year and he was 50 for 206 (.243 avg, .827 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 12 homers and 40 RBIs. He played in 179 games in his two years with the Twins and he was 128 for 482 (.266 avg, .949 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 37 homers and 99 RBIs. The Twins weren’t going anywhere, so it was a nice gesture to trade Jim Thome to a team still in the playoff chase.

The Twins have placed 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Francisco Liriano on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left shoulder. Liriano has pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Twins this year and he is 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has only given up 121 hits in his first 132 innings this year but he has walked 73 batters which has gotten him into a lot of trouble. The Twins have called up 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Scott Diamond to replace Liriano in the starting rotation. Diamond pitched in 1 game (1 start) earlier this year for the Twins and he was 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has also pitched in 23 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Twins this year and he is 4-14 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.

28-year old lefty starting pitcher Brian Duensing has been awful for the Twins in August. He has pitched in 26 games (25 starts) for the Twins so far this year and he is 8-13 with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. But in his four starts in August, Duensing is 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. He has given up 36 hits in 24 innings in August as he is not missing too many bats. Duensing might be better served in the bullpen than the starting rotation as he has had an awful time so far this year.

The Twins have placed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Nick Blackburn on the 15-day disabled list due to a right forearm strain. Blackburn has pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Twins so far this year and he is 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He will be replaced in the starting rotation by righty Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak has pitched in 20 games (5 starts) for the Twins so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. This could be a blessing in disguise for the Twins as Swarzak will likely be an improvement on Blackburn in the rotation going forward.