Blue Jays Bolster Pitching Staff Via 10-Player Trade with Astros
Fitzgerald Cecilio
Toronto, Canada
The Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a 10-player trade with the Houston Astros to boost their injury-depleted pitching staff in the face of an expected tight race for wild card spots.
Toronto acquired left-handed starter J.A. Happ along with relievers Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter while releasing veterans Francisco Cordero and Ben Francisco to the Astros.
The Blue Jays also sent minor league prospects Asher Wojciechowski, Joe Musgrove, left-hander David Rollins and catcher Carlos Perez to the Astros together with a player to be named later.
"We didn't want to give up any of our top guys," said Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I think what it came down to is trying to have some depth. They needed some depth; obviously there is strength in numbers from that standpoint. And if they weren't going to get one of our top guys, or someone we view that way, I think it was more about getting quantity for them."
Anthopoulos made the move with a less two weeks remaining until the non-waiver trade deadline to help fill some holes in a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries for the past two months.
The Blue Jays' pitching staff has been beset by injuries in the past weeks, with Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison on the disabled list.
"For us, getting a guy like Carpenter put in the deal -- he's young, has a good arm," Anthopoulos said of the right-hander, who is under club control for five years. "We think he has a chance to develop into a solid reliever with some arm strength. There was some value to that, with options and control and all those kinds of things."
"This is a very good deal for us," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "Once again, we are adding depth to our Minor League system with quality young players. We really feel this will help us moving forward and are extremely excited about the players we've added to our organization."
The 29-year-old Happ went 7-9 with a 4.83 ERA in 18 starts for the Astros this season while Lyon, an 11-year veteran, owns a 3.75 ERA in 37 games this season and has a total of 78 career saves.
The Blue Jays (45-47) are 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers in the race for two wild card spots in the American League
Major League has recently expanded its playoffs for the third time with the addition of two more wild card teams and a single elimination game in each league.
The three division winners in each league will await the survivor of a one-game playoff between the wild card teams in each league.
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