Midweek Quick Hits: Ramirez, Santo, Silva, and More

• Aramis Ramirez has joined the team, but the Cubs will wait to activate him until Friday. Aramis will work with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo to get his swing back during the series in Seattle.
• Former Mariner Carlos Silva was scheduled to start against his old team, but he tweaked his hamstring during his start against the Angels. Silva has been pushed back and may start on Saturday against the White Sox.
• The Cubs will honor Ron Santo on Monday in a pre-game ceremony at Wrigley Field. Saturday will be Ron's 50th anniversary of breaking into the big leagues on June 26, 1960 with the Cubs. Flags to honor the anniversary will fly from the Wrigley Field roof starting next Monday. Also, he will throw out the first pitch before the game on Monday against the Pirates and sing the seventh inning stretch on July 1 (Thursday).
• MLB.com reports that the Cubs have agreed to terms with Micah Gibbs, who was their third round draft pick. Gibbs is a catcher from Louisiana State University. The Cubs have also announced the signings of Pierre LaPage (13th round), Elliot Soto (15th round), Ryan Hartman (16th round), and Chad Noble (37th round).
• Two Cubs farmhands will participate in the MLB Futures Game at Angel Stadium on Sunday July 11. Brett Jackson (outfielder, Class-A Daytona) will play for the U.S. team while Hak-Ju Lee (SS, Class-A Peoria) will play for the World. Jackson hit for the cycle last Monday and is having a great year. The game will be on ESPN2.
• According to the Sun-Times, Lou Piniella plans to use the rest of this A.L. trip to rotate regulars through the DH spot, giving them some rest in the field. Derrek Lee and Marlon Byrd are expected to DH tonight and tomorrow respectively.
• The Orioles have picked up another ex-Cub in Jake Fox in a trade with Oakland that sent a minor league pitcher and cash the other way.
• Phil Rogers would have rather seen Ryan Dempster moved to the bullpen than Carlos Zambrano. He thinks Demp would be more effective in relief than Z.
• On August 8, the Cubs will launch a Fantasy Camp at Wrigley Field.
• Jack Moore of Fan Graphs gives his take on what the Cubs should do at the trade deadline.
• First round draft pick Hayden Simpson tossed a bullpen session at Wrigley and will report to Mesa next. From there, he'll head to Boise to join the Cubs "Class-A Short Season" affiliate for the rest of the season. This fall, he will go back to Mesa for the Arizona Instructional League. Simpson signed a deal on Saturday worth $1.06 million.
• David Kaplan reports that Jim Hendry is actively trying to trade Kosuke to create a spot for Tyler Colvin to play everyday.
• Rotoworld.com lists Ryan Theriot a possible replacement for injured Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always.