HOUSTON -- The Giants traded right-hander Kai-Wei Teng to the Astros in exchange for Minor League catcher Jancel Villarroel and international bonus pool money on Thursday.
San Francisco needed to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Harrison Bader, who reportedly agreed to a two-year, $20.5 million deal on Monday, so Teng’s departure should alleviate that crunch for now.
Teng, 27, struggled to a 6.37 ERA over eight appearances (seven starts) for the Giants last season, but he flashed some intriguing stuff and ended the year with a career-high 28.1% strikeout rate, more than double the 12.7% clip he posted in 2024.
The Taiwanese hurler wasn’t projected to crack the Giants’ Opening Day rotation following the arrival of free-agent additions Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle and would have had to compete with fellow young starters like Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt, Blade Tidwell, Carson Seymour and Trevor McDonald for a spot on the pitching staff this spring.
Teng had been in the Giants organization since 2019, when he was acquired from the Twins as part of the Sam Dyson trade.
Villarroel was ranked the Astros’ No. 13 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and became the Giants' No. 27 prospect following the deal. The 21-year-old signed with Houston out of his native Venezuela in 2022 and batted .259 with a .739 OPS, eight home runs and 20 stolen bases across 100 games for Single-A Fayetteville and High-A Asheville last year. Villarroel has been primarily used as a catcher (115 games) in the Minors, though he’s also made starts at first base (39), second base (11), third base (1) and the outfield (29).