Week In Review: 8/5/12 – 8/11/12

As we hit the dog days of August, let's take a moment to catch up on the week that was here at MLBTR…

• The Yankees signed Derek Lowe after New York placed CC Sabathia on the DL with elbow stiffness. Lowe, 39, was released by the Indians last week after pitching to a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season.
• The Mets designated left-hander Garrett Olson for assignment. In 104 career big league appearances, Olson has a 6.26 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
• Right-hander Andrew Carpenter signed a minor league contract with the Mets and has been assigned to Double-A Binghamton.
• The Diamondbacks designated pitcher Mike Zagurski for assignment. Zagurski had a 6.18 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 27.2 innings of work this season.
• The Red Sox put Kelly Shoppach and Mike Aviles on waivers on Friday while Nick Punto and Carl Crawford have now cleared waivers.
• Venezuelan left-hander Dedgar Jimenez signed with the Red Sox. The 16-year-old obtained a bonus of $175K.
• The Rangers designated infielder Alberto Gonzalez for assignment. Gonzalez appeared in 24 games for the Rangers this year, playing second base, third base and shortstop.
• The Blue Jays designated right-hander Scott Richmond for assignment. Richmond appeared in three games for Toronto this year, but has spent most of the season at Triple-A. 
• High school right-hander Felipe Perez signed with the Diamondbacks for a reported bonus of $400K.
• The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Juan Abreu off of waivers from Houston. The Astros designated Abreu for assignment on Tuesday.
• The Red Sox signed Scott Podsednik to a Major League contract. Boston traded the outfielder to the Diamondbacks in the Matt Albers–Craig Breslow trade, but Arizona released him a few days later.
• A few recognizable names find themselves headed to Triple-A after struggling at the big league level. The Rays outrighted Brooks Conrad to Triple-A Durham, the Tigers outrighted Don Kelly to Triple-A Toledo and the Dodgers outrighted Tony Gwynn Jr. to Triple-A Albuquerque.
• The Indians released Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo after previously designating both veterans for assignment.
• The Astros designated infielder Brian Bixler for assignment. He posted a .193/.253/.330 line in 96 plate appearances at the big league level.
• Bobby Abreu cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A.
• The Astros acquired utility player Tyler Greene from the Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The 28-year-old has a .218 /.272 /.358 batting line in 197 plate appearances so far in 2012.
• The Rangers placed catcher Yorvit Torrealba on release waivers. Torrealba, 34, posted a .236/.302/.342 batting line in 182 plate appearances for Texas before getting designated for assignment.
• Kip Wells cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Tucson from the Padres.
• The Blue Jays outrighted Andrew Carpenter to Triple-A. Carpenter, 27, spent the bulk of July with the Blue Jays and saw just nine innings of work across six appearances.
• Drew Sutton's headed to Triple-A Indianapolis after the Pirates outrighted the outfielder, who posted a .243/.278/.419 batting line in 79 plate appearances. 
• The Indians designated infielder Jose Lopez for assignment. The 28-year-old posted a .249/.272/.366 batting line in 224 plate appearances.
• The Blue Jays designated right-hander Jesse Chavez for assignment. Chavez, 28, has an 8.44 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings with Toronto this year.
• Catcher Wil Nieves's found a new job as the Diamondbacks claimed the veteran off waivers from the Rockies. The 34-year-old posted a .298/.333/.404 batting line in 51 plate appearances this year.
• The Nationals outrighted catcher Carlos Maldonado to Triple-A Syracuse. He has spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he has a .223/.343/.405 batting line in 146 plate appearances.
• The Giants claimed left-handed reliever Jose Mijares from Kansas City. Mijares has a 2.56 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 33.3% ground ball rate in 38 2/3 innings this year.
• Infielder Cesar Izturis's headed to the Nationals after Washington claimed the veteran off of waivers from the Brewers. Izturis has a .235/.248/.333 batting line in 169 plate appearances this year.
• The Diamondbacks released Lyle Overbay after the veteran posted a .292/.367/.448 batting line in 110 plate appearances.
• The Royals designated Yuniesky Betancourt for assignment after the infielder posted a .232/.260/.408 batting line in 56 games with Kansas City this year. 
• Mike Fontenot finds himself without a job after the Phillies released the infielder. Fontenot, 32, hit .289/.343/.340 in 105 plate appearances this year for the Phillies.
• The Red Sox acquired third baseman Danny Valencia from the Twins for minor league outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Valencia has struggled this season hitting .198/.212/.310 in two tours with the Twins.
• The Tigers acquired Jeff Baker from the Cubs in exchange for two players to be named later. Baker, 31, has a .269/.306/.448 slash line in 144 plate appearances on the year.