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If you already own Casey Blake, it's safe to continue to have him on your roster. If you didn't see a need to own him before, there's no reason to run out and grab him right now.

That's the bottom line regarding the trade that sent Blake to the Dodgers on Saturday for two prospects. Yes, he's going to a less-favorable hitter's park and joining a lineup that had scored 37 fewer runs this season than the club he just left, but he's going to continue to be a reasonably productive corner man and the fact he is a fixture in the lineup every day has some value. He went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in his West Coast debut.

The Dodgers sent Blake DeWitt back to the minors to make room for Blake on the roster. Andy LaRoche will continue to function as the backup at the position.

The move means that both Andy Marte and Ryan Garko should be in the Cleveland lineup on an everyday basis for the balance of the season, giving them a couple of months to get their numbers turned around. Garko is a better bet in that regard than Marte, and is the player that might be worth taking a chance on in deep mixed leagues to see if you get lucky.

The Indians received a couple of interesting players in return for Blake.

Carlos Santana is a 22-year-old catcher that has rebounded from a 2007 season, where he hit .223, to bat .323 with more walks than strikeouts at high Class A, and will report to that same level in the Indians system. He leads all of the minor leagues in RBIs. He was converted to catching two seasons ago and should definitely be on the radar screen for dynasty league players.

Jonathan Meloan is a hard-throwing right-hander that was probably miscast as a starter by the Dodgers this season and will be converted back to a relief role at Triple-A for Cleveland. His mid-90s heat and power slider could excel in a late-inning role, and he could be a consideration to close down the road. He struck out 335 batters in 262 2/3 minor league innings.

In a separate, minor deal, the Indians sent minor league reliever Luis Perdomo to the Cardinals for Anthony Reyes.

Reyes, who clearly needed a change of scenery and at times had disagreements with the team's coaching staff, will work in the Triple-A rotation for now, but Indians general manager Mark Shapiro told the team Web site, "he's a guy we'd expect to see up here at some point this season," as the team tries to rehabilitate the once-top prospect's career.

Perdomo was closing at high Class A earlier this season, and has a live arm with a mid-90s fastball that could become a set-up man down the road. He'll report to the Cards' Double-A club.

Past editions: 7/26: Scary night for Twins | 7/25: Cards bullpen | 7/24: Mussina is for real

Jeremy Hermida hit two homers on Saturday, giving him three in the past two games and five in his past eight. Hopefully, this strong series against the Cubs will propel him to the big finish that he's capable of. His performance spoiled Rich Harden's five-inning 10-strikeout outing. … Adam LaRoche homered for the third time in two days as well, and is batting .392 with seven homers this month. He's traditionally been a strong finisher, and is available in almost all leagues at this point. … Alex Rios also hit two homers on Saturday, and is slugging .568 this month. He's been a groundball hitter for much of the season, which is what was sapping his power. … Torii Hunter also joined the two-homer brigade, as did Carlos Delgado, who is hitting .386 with eight homers this month, and Adrian Gonzalez, who had been struggling a bit in July, now has three home runs in his past two games. … David Purcey won for the first time in his third career major league start, going six innings and allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking one. It was a quality start, but let's not get too excited about him until he's contained a better offense than the Mariners. … Johnny Damon was slow getting down the line on an eighth-inning at-bat on Saturday, appearing to favor a leg. It doesn't appear to be too serious, but it's possible he might not be in the lineup on Sunday. … Robinson Cano had three hits and a homer, and now has an eight-game hitting streak, failing to record a multi-hit game just once in that span. Yep, he's bouncing back from a rough first half. … Jose Guillen felt his groin "snap" in the fifth inning, but stayed in the game, although he said later he shouldn't have done so. He's likely out of the lineup for at least a couple of games. … Cole Hamels failed to pitch into the seventh for the first time in almost two months, in what was likely just a one-start bump in the road. … Justin Duchscherer was knocked around by the Rangers, and his ERA could jump another full run upward before it's all said and done. … Justin Verlander allowed more than two runs in an outing for the first time in 10 starts, and just the second time in his past 14. He's still someone to pursue for the final two months. … Michael Bourn left in the sixth inning with a sprained ankle, and is day-to-day, but this obviously won't help his steals potential going forward. … Fausto Carmona was lit up by the Twins in his return to the rotation, showing a lack of sink on his fastball. This is why we sometimes avoid pitchers in their first start back from the disabled list. … Troy Tulowitzki posted his fourth multi-hit game in five starts since returning to the lineup. It's a perfect time to buy low for the stretch run. … Tim Lincecum's 13-strikeout effort was wasted by his bullpen in the eighth inning. … Derek Lowe got back on track with one-hit ball through eight innings against the Nationals. … Juan Pierre was 1-for-4 with a run scored in his second game back from the DL, mirroring his first game. He has not yet attempted to steal a base. … Josh Hamilton continues his breakneck RBI pace, driving in three more with one swing of the bat. He now has 103 in 100 games played, 25 more than AL runner-up Carlos Quentin and 11 more than NL leader Ryan Howard.