July trade season underway Carlos Lee to Marlins

The Houston Astros weren't going anywhere this season, so they dealt a pretty good piece (Carlos Lee) to get a couple of prospects in return.

Lee is reunited with his old White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen, with the Miami Marlins.

"It's a huge move, I think, the front office, showing people how much we want to win," Guillen said, according to ESPN.com. "They show how much we care about winning this year, they showed the players that they're willing to do anything to help this ballclub."

It is rare that the Marlins are a buyer at the deadline instead of a seller. They are three games under .500 and nine games out of first place. But they have their new ballpark, and need to maintain some momentum. But Miami is probably going to need a lot more help to catch the Nationals and Braves (and even the Mets at this point) in a very competitive NL East.

The Astros received Matt Dominguez -- once considered a big-time third base prospect now hitting .234 in Triple-A -- and Single-A lefty Rob Rasmussen, a former second-rounder out of UCLA.