The Cubs have acquired veteran righty Steve Trachsel from the Orioles for 1B/3B Scott Moore and righty reliever Rock Cherry.  Trachsel has started 25 games this season for the Orioles and he was 6-8 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.  In 140.2 innings he allowed 151 hits, walked 69 batters and whiffed 45.  This trade makes little sense to me as Sean Marshall (likely to be replaced) has pitched better than Trachsel this season.  Marshall has started 17 games this season and he is 7-6 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP this season for the Cubs.

The Cubs have traded infielder Buck Coats to the Reds for a player to be named later.  The Cubs had to trade Coats because they designated him for assignment to make room on the roster for Craig Monroe.  Coats was hitting .303 with 81 runs scored, 11 homers, 59 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 123 AAA games for the Cubs this year.  The Cubs also sent 25 year old lefty reliever Clay Repada to the Tigers to finalize the Craig Monroe trade.  Rapada pitched in 55 AAA games this season for the Cubs and he was 7-2 with 17 saves, a 3.58 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

The Cubs almost gave up on Jacque Jones as they had a trade in place with the Florida Marlins but they backed out of it.  It seems like that woke up Jones who had a horrid first half of the season with a bat in his hands.  In 34 games since the All-Star Break, Jones is 41 for 126 (.325 avg, .869 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers and 26 RBIs.  Jones will likely be a starting player the rest of the season as long as he continues to hit the baseball.  Jones has now played in 103 games this season for the Cubs and he is 91 for 341 (.267 avg, .717 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 5 homers and 46 RBIs.

The Cubs have acquired outfielder Craig Monroe from the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later.  Monroe has had a rough season so far as he has played in 99 games this season with the Tigers and he was 76 for 343 (.222 avg, .637 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 11 homers and 55 RBIs.  Monroe should benefit greatly from playing in the National League as he is a good fastball hitter.  He has now played in 699 major league games in his career and he is 618 for 2,400 (.258 avg, .751 OPS) with 332 runs scored, 103 homers and 384 RBIs.

The Cubs have designated Koyie Hill for assignment and they have activated Henry Blanco from the DL.  Hill deserved to go as he played in 36 games for the Cubs and he was 15 for 93 (.161 avg, .500 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs.  At least now the Cubs can give Jason Kendall a day off here and there and feel good about it.  Blanco has played in only 14 games this season for the Cubs and he is 7 for 36 (.194 avg, .481 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs.