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Astros Acquire Comer To Complete Ten-Player Deal

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The Blue Jays have sent right-handed pitching prospect Kevin Comer to the Astros to the complete last month's ten player trade, the team announced. The original deal included Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco, Brandon Lyon, and J.A. Happ, among others.

Comer, 20, was the 57th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He's pitched to a 3.95 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings in the low levels of Toronto's farm system this year. ESPN's Keith Law says (on Twitter) that Comer's fastball velocity has been down into the upper-80s this season. Baseball America ranked him as the 17th best prospect in the Blue Jays' system in their Prospect Handbook before the season.

Quick Hits: Villanueva, Hammel, Cabrera, Hamilton

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Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel is on the mend and set to return next month.  With that in mind, O's General Manager Dan Duquette doesn't seem terribly focused on adding a starting pitcher, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva hopes to stay in Toronto, but wants to do so as a starting pitcher, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.  Villanueva avoided arbitration with a $2.2775MM deal this winter but would likely look for a significant pay bump as a starter.
  • This winter's free agent market figured to be light on heavy hitters anyway, but Melky Cabrera's situation means that the Rangers would have an even harder time replacing Josh Hamilton, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  One Texas official cautiously predicted that the slugger would re-sign with the team, but we learned last week that Hamilton will wait until the offseason to negotiate.
  • It hasn't been a successful year for the Astros, but things could get worse upon their arrival in the American League West, writes Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Speaking of the Astros, they released 2008 second-round pick Jay Austin earlier today (hat tip to Jayne Hansen of What The Heck, Bobby).  The 22-year-old outfielder never advanced beyond Advanced-A ball in his time with Houston.
  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is staying upbeat in the face of the latest controversy surrounding him and the club, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.  Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were reportedly the most vocal in a meeting between the players and principal owners regarding Valentine.

Astros Notes: Luhnow, DeShields Jr., Altuve

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Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow wrote the club's season ticket holders this afternoon to encourage them to stay on board as they look to build for future seasons.  Houston is dead last in the standings but Luhnow pointed to the club's commitment to building through the draft, international free agents, and the trade market as evidence of better things to come.  More on the Astros..

  • While the Astros weren't expecting to contend this year, new owner Jim Crane told the Associated Press that he wasn't expecting the team to be struggling this much.  "We made a lot of trades and once we made that decision — Jeff started moving some of the talent — we knew we might slide back a little bit, but we didn’t think it would be this bad," Crane said.
  • Prospect Delino DeShields Jr. is on a path to reach the majors in the near future, but Luhnow says that the club isn't yet concerned about what to do with him and All-Star Jose Altuve, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  "If we get to the point we have two guys up here and they're blocked, or one guy here and one guy [at Triple-A], maybe then you make an adjustment. That's how we're going to approach it," the GM explained.
  • The Astros' rebuilding project is a gift to the rest of the contending teams that are scheduled to face them in the coming weeks, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Of the seven teams in the hunt for the Wild Card (including the division-leading Reds), five have games remaining against Houston.

Quick Hits: Astros, Braves, Indians, Choo, Marlins

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The Braves beat the Mets at Citi Field tonight to remain atop the Wild Card chase in the National League.  Atlanta found their way into the playoff chase as expected, but with a different cast of characters than planned.  Here's today's look around the league..

  • The Astros announced that they have named Mike Elias their new amateur scouting director in a press release. Bobby Heck, who filled the same role since October 2007, will not have his contract renewed. Elias worked with Astros GM Jeff Luhnow in the Cardinals' front office.
  • David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gives Braves GM Frank Wren credit for not only managing to plug the rotation's holes on the cheap, but making it as formidable as it was supposed to be when the season began.  While it's unknown how well free agent pickup Ben Sheets and recent acquisition Paul Maholm will hold up, both have looked strong through seven combined starts.  Regardless, both pitchers will cost the Braves less than $4MM in 2012.
  • Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer looks at how the Indians can position themselves to contend in 2013.  Hoynes suggests that the Tribe starts by parting ways with Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore, who are both eligible for free agency at the end of the year.  Beyond that, he writes that trading Shin-Soo Choo could bring Cleveland some solid pieces in return.  So far, the rightfielder has rebuffed the club's efforts to keep him in the fold beyond next season.
  • Carlos Lee has done exactly what the Marlins hoped he would when they acquired him from the Astros last month, tweetsJuan Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.  In 32 games with Miami, Lee has a .291/.382/.355 slash line and an OPS not far off from what he posted in Houston earlier this year.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Brian Bixler

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Today’s outright assignments..

  • Brian Bixler has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after clearing waivers, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  Bixler, DFA’d by Houston on Thursday, appeared in 36 games this yea and saw time at second, third, shortstop, and both corner outfield positions.  The 29-year-old has a .267/.349/.366 slash line in 229 Triple-A plate appearances.

Blue Jays Claim Juan Abreu

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The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Juan Abreu off of waivers from Houston. The Astros, who announced the deal in a press release, had designated Abreu for assignment on Tuesday.

Abreu appeared in seven games for the Astros last year, but has spent the entire 2012 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old has a 7.09 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 6.7 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings for the RedHawks this year. He has struck out more than one batter per inning in seven seasons as a professional, but has a high walk rate of 5.6 BB/9.

Astros Designate Brian Bixler For Assignment

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The Astros announced that they designated infielder Brian Bixler for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Tyler Greene, who was claimed off of waivers from St. Louis.

Bixler has appeared in 36 games for the Astros this year, playing second, third, shortstop and both corner outfield positions. He posted a .193/.253/.330 line in 96 plate appearances at the MLB level and has a .267/.349/.366 batting line in 229 plate appearances at Triple-A. The Astros claimed the 2004 second round pick off of waivers from Washington last November.

Astros Acquire Tyler Greene

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The Astros have acquired utility player Tyler Greene from the Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash considerations, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). The Cardinals selected Greene in the first round of the 2005 draft, back when current Astros GM Jeff Luhnow was overseeing the amateur draft for St. Louis.

Greene has appeared in 77 games for St. Louis this year, playing second, shortstop and both corner outfield positions. The 28-year-old has a .218 /.272 /.358 batting line in 197 plate appearances so far in 2012. He won't be arbitration eligible before the end of the 2013 season.

The teams completed the trade this morning, after the Astros claimed Greene on waivers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter).

Astros Designate Juan Abreu For Assignment

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The Astros have designated pitcher Juan Abreu for assignment, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The right-hander appeared in seven games for the Astros last season but never saw time on the big league roster in 2012.

Abreu, 27, had a 7.09 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 6.7 BB/9 in 38 appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.  His Triple-A numbers last season were significantly sharper as he posted a 2.18 ERA with 12.0 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 48 games for the Astros' and Braves' affiliates.

Minor Moves: Neshek, Wise, Mock, Hill

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Some minor transactions from around the league…

  • The A's acquired right-hander Pat Neshek from the Orioles in exchange for cash, according to the Athletics' official Twitter page.  Neshek will report to the A's Major League bullpen, according to Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).  Neshek signed a minor league deal with the O's last winter and has a 2.66 ERA, a 7.00 K/BB ratio and 49 strikeouts in 35 relief appearances (44 innings) for Triple-A Norfolk this season.  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) was the first to report the deal.
  • The White Sox agreed to terms with Dewayne Wise to a minor league deal, reports CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes (via Twitter). Wise had a .262/.286/.492 line in 63 plate appearances for the Yankees this season before being released on Wednesday.  This is Wise's second stint with the White Sox, as he played for Chicago in 2008-09 and earned a place in team history with an outstanding ninth-inning catch that saved Mark Buehrle's perfect game in 2009.
  • The Astros acquired Garrett Mock from the Red Sox in exchange for future considerations, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  Mock last pitched in the Major Leagues with Washington in 2010.  Mock, a Houston native, posted a 3.33 ERA, a 9.8 K/9 rate and a 2.3 K/BB ratio in 48 2/3 innings as a reliever for Triple-A Pawtucket this season after signing a minor league deal with the Sox last winter.
  • The Nationals released catcher Koyie Hill, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  Hill appeared in 11 games with the Cubs this season before being designated for assignment and choosing free agency, upon which he signed with the Nats in June.
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