Report: Astros Acquire Baltimore Slugger

Houston made the deal to fortify its batting lineup as the AL West-leading Astros prepare for a playoff push.

The Texas Rangers won’t face Baltimore Orioles slugger Trey Mancini on Monday, as he has been reportedly traded to the Houston Astros.

The Athletic was the first to report the deal.

The Athletic also reported that the Tampa Bay Rays traded right-handed pitcher Seth Johnson to Baltimore and right-handed pitcher Jayden Murray to the Astros in in the trade. Johnson is about to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Jose Siri is also reportedly headed to Tampa Bay as part of the deal. 

The Orioles are in Arlington for a three-game series with the Rangers.

Mancini is batting .268/.347/.404/.751 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI this season. He had a mutual option with the Orioles after this season for $10 million. Mancini missed all of the 2020 season as he was fighting colon cancer.

Mancini had his best season in 2019 when he hit 35 home runs and 97 RBI for the Orioles.

He joins an Astros team that is in first place in the American League West. The Rangers won’t avoid facing Mancini entirely. They travel to Houston next week.

It’s the latest trade that involves the American League as transactions pick up steam going into Tuesday’s deadline.

The New York Yankees have reportedly sent four prospects to the Oakland Athletics for starting pitcher Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino.

The Athletics reportedly received left-handed pitcher Ken Waldichuk (No. 5 Yankees prospect per MLB.com), right-handed pitcher Luis Medina (No. 10), left-handed pitcher J.P. Sears (No. 20) and second baseman Cooper Bowman (No. 21).

Montas is just 4-9 this season, but he has a 3.18 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched. He also has a 3.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Trivino is 1-6 with a 6.47 ERA this season. But he has a great strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.21) and has a career-high 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

The Rangers faced the Athletics last weekend in Oakland, losing two of three games. The Rangers are coming off winning three out of four against the Angels and host Baltimore for a three-game series starting on Monday.

The Yankees traded for Kansas City Royals outfielder Frank Benintendi last week. The Royals received three prospects in return — T.J. Sikkema, Beck Way and Chandler Champlain.

The other significant trade over the weekend was Seattle’s trade for Cincinnati starting pitcher Luis Castillo. The Mariners had to give up three of their top five prospects: Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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