The Twins have designated 25-year old righty reliever Loek Van Mil for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Brian Fuentes. Mil pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball this year and he was 1-3 with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. He had control issues as he walked 22 batters in only 33 2/3 innings this year. Part of the problem is that Mil is 7′1″.

UPDATE: (9/1/2010) - The Twins have sent Loek Van Mil to the Angels to complete the Brian Fuentes trade.

The Twins have acquired 34-year old lefty reliever Brian Fuentes from the Angels for a player to be named later. Fuentes pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he was 4-1 with 23 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 542 games (0 starts) in 10 years in the majors and he is 22-33 with 186 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. This was a great move for the Twins as Fuentes will likely serve as a set-up man to Matt Capps and he’s death to lefty hitters because of his delivery.

The Twins have claimed 35-year old lefty reliever Randy Flores off waivers from the Rockies. Flores pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 339 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 11-5 with 4 saves, a 4.60 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The Twins were smart to pick up Flores with Mahay and Mijares injured and they didn’t have to give anything up to get him.

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.

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.