Yankees acquire RHPs Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman from Houston

The New York Yankees today announced they have acquired right-handed pitchers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman from the Houston Astros in exchange for catcher Brian McCann and cash considerations.

November 17th, 2016

The New York Yankees today announced they have acquired right-handed pitchers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman from the Houston Astros in exchange for catcher Brian McCann and cash considerations.
 
Abreu, 21, was 3-8 with a 3.72 ERA (101.2IP, 74H, 47R/42ER, 58BB, 115K, 7HR) in 24 games (16 starts) with Single-A Quad Cities and Single-A Lancaster in 2016, allowing just 6.55 H/9.0IP and averaging 10.18 K/9.0IP. He played the majority of his season with Quad Cities before making his final three appearances (two starts) with High-A Lancaster.
 
A native of Guayubin, Dominican Republic, the 6-foot 2-inch right-hander was originally signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent August 5, 2013. He was most recently ranked as the Astros' No. 7 prospect by MLB.com after being ranked No. 11 prior to the start of the 2016 season.
 
Over three minor league seasons, Abreu owns an 8-13 record with a 3.16 ERA (216.1IP, 157H, 90R/76ER, 108BB, 220K, 10HR) and 6.53 H/9.0IP ratio in 51 games (37 starts).
 
Guzman, 20, combined with the GCL Astros and Rookie-level Greeneville to go 3-4 with a 4.05 ERA (40.0IP, 29H, 22R/18ER, 17BB, 54K, 1HR) in 13 games (eight starts) in 2016. He held opponents to a .196 (29-for-148) batting average, including a .154 (8-for-52) mark against left-handed hitters.
 
The Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic, native was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent to a minor league contract on June 15, 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 and has gone 6-8 with a 4.63 ERA (95.1IP, 92H, 69R/49ER, 47BB, 83K, 3HR) in 30 games (20 starts) in his minor league career.
 
McCann, 32, hit .242 (104-for-429) with 56R, 13 doubles, 20HR and 58RBI in 130 games with the Yankees in 2016. He joins David Ortiz as the only two Major Leaguers to hit at least 20 home runs in each of the last nine seasons (2008-16), and is just the fourth catcher (min. 50% of games at C per season) in the Modern Era (since 1900) to hit at least 20HR in 10-or-more seasons overall (also 2006), joining Mike Piazza (11 times), Johnny Bench (11 times) and Yogi Berra (10 times). The six-time Silver Slugger Award winner is also one of just four catchers in Baseball history to win the award at least six times, joining Piazza (10), Ivan Rodriguez (seven) and Lance Parrish (six), and is the only catcher to win the award in both the AL (2015) and NL (2006, '08-11).
 
McCann spent three seasons with the Yankees after being signed by the club on December 3, 2013, to a five-year contract extending through the 2018 season with a vesting option for 2019. Of his 69 home runs hit with the Yankees from 2014-16, 46 came at Yankee Stadium.