Week In Review: 8/26/12 – 9/1/12

With rosters in place for the home stretch, let's take a break from the action to catch up on the week that was here at MLBTR…

• The Cubs officially signed Starlin Castro to a contract extension that will keep the 22-year-old shortstop under contract for the remainder of his 20s. Castro has posted a .276/.311/.418 batting line with 12 homers in 540 plate appearances this season.
• The Orioles acquired Joe Saunders and cash from the Diamondbacks in exchange for reliever Matt Lindstrom and a player to be named later. 
• Brandon Laird joined the Astros this week after Houston claimed him off of waivers from the Yankees, who designated the infielder for assignment. Laird, 24, posted a .254/.307/.414 slash line with 15 home runs and 31 doubles in 550 plate appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year.
• The Yankees acquired Steve Pearce from the Astros for cash considerations. Pearce, 29, has a career line of .277/.347/.484 against left-handed pitching.
• The Giants designated right-hander Hector Correa for assignment. Correa, 24, has pitched to a 7.50 ERA in just 18 innings for the club's Triple-A affiliate this year while battling injury.
• Will Rhymes' struggles at the plate may have him looking for a new team as the Rays designated the infielder for assignment. Rhymes, 29, hit .228/.299/.285 in 137 plate appearances for the Rays this season while playing second and third bases. 
• The Yankees designated Ramiro Pena for assignment. Pena, 27, hit .258/.325/.328 in Triple-A this summer while playing second, third, and shortstop. 
• The Rangers designated left-hander Miguel De Los Santos for assignment. De Los Santos, 24, has pitched to a 5.22 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings for the club's Double-A affiliate this season.
• First baseman Frazier Hall headed to the desert this week as the player to be named later from a July trade between the Diamondbacks and Angels for right-hander Barry Enright. 
• The Rays acquired Ben Francisco from the Astros in exchange for a player to be named later. Tampa Bay designated right-hander Albert Suarez for assignment in order to clear space for Francisco on the team's 40-man roster. 
• The Tigers traded Jeff Baker to the Braves for a player to be named later. The veteran has played second base and all four corner positions this year, while posting a line of .254/.293/.408 in 181 total plate appearances.
• Cody Ransom finds himself headed back to the Diamondbacks as the team claimed him off waivers from the Brewers. Ransom, 36, has played all four infield positions this year.
• The Orioles signed free agent left-hander Randy Wolf to help bolster their pitching depth for the remainder of the season. The 36-year-old started 24 games for the Brewers in 2012, posting a 5.69 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 43.4% ground ball rate in 142 1/3 innings.
• The Indians designated Shelley Duncan for assignment. Duncan, 32, hit .203/.288/.388 with 11 homers in 264 plate appearances for Cleveland this season. Cleveland also claimed left-hander Scott Maine off of waivers from the Cubs, who had designated him for assignment. Maine, a sixth round selection in 2007, appeared in 21 games for the Cubs this year, posting a 4.79 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 20 2/3 innings.
• Shortstop Jack Wilson finds himself without a home after the Braves released the veteran. The 34-year-old appeared in 40 games before getting injured, playing shortstop and a little second base.
• The Cubs designated left-hander Alex Hinshaw for assignment just nine days after claiming him from the Padres.
• Lefty Erik Bedard and the Pirates parted ways this week as Pittsburgh released the veteran after he couldn't regain form from earlier in his career. The Bucs signed Bedard in December to a one-year, $4.5MM free agent deal, so they still owe him about $910K.
• The Rangers designated infielder Luis Hernandez for assignment. The 28-year-old spent most of the season at Triple-A Round Rock, where he posted a .262/.302/.372 batting line in 548 plate appearances.
• The Cubs acquired Anthony Recker from the Athletics in exchange for catcher Blake Lalli.