Arlington, Texas -- The Texas Rangers tonight announced that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Yohanse Morel from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-handed pitcher Albert Abreu. Morel has been assigned to High-A Hickory of the South Atlantic League.

Morel, 21, has gone 2-2 with a 4.08 ERA (8 ER/17.2 IP) in 10 relief appearances for High-A Quad Cities in 2022, averaging 10.7 strikeouts per 9 innings with no home runs allowed. The Dominican Republic native, who has worked primarily as a reliever over the last two seasons, has spent the bulk of his professional career in the Kansas City organization, going 9-12 with a 5.44 ERA (101 ER/167.0 IP) over 67 games/21 starts. Morel was traded from Washington to Kansas City on June 18, 2018 in a multi-player deal that sent right-hander Kelvin Herrera to the Nationals.

Abreu, who was designated for assignment on Monday, had no record and a 3.12 ERA (3 ER/8.2 IP) over 7 relief appearances for the Rangers this season. He had a stint on the 15-day Injured List from April 30-May 23 with a left ankle sprain and had 3 scoreless outings (3.0 IP) on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock. The 26-year-old right-hander was acquired by Texas from the New York Yankees in a trade on April 2, along with left-handed pitcher Robby Ahlstrom, in exchange for catcher Jose Trevino.