The Houston Astros acquired first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini from Baltimore Orioles as well as receiver Christian Vazquez from Boston Red Sox.
The Mancini deal, announced Monday by the Astros, is a three-team trade that also involved the Tampa Bay Stingrays. Besides Mancini, the Astros received minor league right-hander Jayden Murray from the Rays, who acquire outfielder Jose Siri from Houston. The Orioles received minor league right-handers Seth Johnson (from the Rays) and Chayce McDermott (from Houston).
To make room for Siri on their 40-player roster, the Rays have designated the outfielder Brett Phillips for assignment.
The Red Sox received outfielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez and minor league outfielder Wilyer Abreu from the Astros in exchange for Vazquez.
Vazquez, 31, has .759 OPS with 8 home runs and 42 RBIs this season and will provide an immediate upgrade over the Astros’ current starting catcher, Martin Maldonado. Vazquez, who will be a free agent next season, had been with the Red Sox since 2014 and was the organization’s longest-serving player.
Mancini, 30, is hitting .268 with 10 homers and 41 RBI this season, his sixth with the Orioles (51-51), who have upset this season and are just three games shy of the American League’s last wild card. Monday matches.
Mancini was a bright spot as the Orioles went through a tough rebuild. He won American League Comeback Player of the Year honors last year after missing the 2020 season to be treated for stage 3 colon cancer.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Mancini would be difficult to replace on and off the field and the trade conversation was difficult.
“Trey has been such an important part of our lives here for the last time since I’ve been here, and a big part of Baltimore and a big part of this community,” Hyde said. “And you know it’s hard to see someone like him go, just a close friend to so many people.
“It wasn’t fun, but happy for him and the opportunity he’s going to have, but it’s hard to say goodbye.”
Mancini broke into the majors with Baltimore in 2016 and hit .270 with 117 homers and 350 RBIs in 701 games for the Orioles.
“I always said I wanted to see the rebuilding finished and I feel like in many ways I did,” Mancini told reporters in Arlington, Texas, where the Orioles faced off. the Rangers on Monday night. I’m only going to improve here, and besides when I play against them, I’m always going to cheer for these guys here.
Mancini joins an already formidable roster for the Astros (67-36), who sit atop the AL West standings. Houston was looking for a first baseman with Yuli Gurriel struggling this season. Gurriel, 38, batted .319 to win the 2021 American League batting title but only hit .243 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs this year.
Mancini, who has been on the designated hitter roster 51 times this season, could also fill that role for Houston with Michael Brantley indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
Mancini has a salary of $7.5 million this season under a contract that includes a $10 million mutual option for 2023 with a $250,000 buyout.
Siri, 27, is hitting .178 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 147 major plate appearances for the Astros this season, and .296 with nine homers and 22 RBIs at Triple-A.
Phillips, 28, who had a hit for the Rays in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series, was struggling this season, hitting just .147 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Murray, 24, who pitches at Triple-A Durham, is 8-3 with a 4.35 ERA in 17 appearances (16 starts) at two tiers of the Rays’ minor league system.
Johnson, 23, is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in seven starts for High-A Bowling Green this season. He could miss all of next season because of Tommy John’s surgery.
McDermott, 23, is 6-1 with a 5.50 ERA in 19 appearances (10 starts) for High-A Asheville this season.
Valdez, 23, is batting .327 with a 1.016 OPS in 82 games for Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land. He is ranked as the Astros’ No. 12 prospect by Baseball America.
Abreu, 23, is batting .249 with an .858 OPS in 89 games with Corpus Christi. He is ranked the Astros’ 21st prospect by Baseball America.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.