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The Houston Astros have made another trade to bolster their pitching staff, this time on deadline day by adding Cleveland RHP Phil Maton. Mark Berman of Fox 26-TV in Houston was first to report the news
MLB source: Astros trade Myles Straw to Indians in a deal that brings RHP Phil Maton to Houston
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 30, 2021
The trade also included prospect catcher Yanier Diaz . Diaz was with Class A Lynchburg where he had slash line of .314/.357/.464 with 50 RBIs, five home runs and had an OPS of .821.
The Houston Astros have acquired RHP Phil Maton and minor league C Yainer Diaz from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for OF Myles Straw. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager James Click https://t.co/D6l1fIjphx
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 30, 2021
Maton sports a 2-0 record in 38 games this year with Cleveland and he a 4.57 ERA. He has an impressive 13.3 K/9 rate, but with a 4.4 BB/9 as well.
The trade comes at the expense of the Astros starting center fielder, Myles Straw, who was hitting .262 this year for the Astros with 2 home runs and 44 RBI’s.
This immediately moves Chas McCormick into an everyday role in center field. GM James Click confirmed this move as a large vote of confidence in McCormick.
James Click: "I felt Chas McCormick had done everything to earn a lot more playing time."
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 30, 2021
As McCormick is the only remaining centerfielder on the 26 man roster, OF Jake Meyers was recalled from AAA.
Source: The Astros are calling up center fielder Jake Meyers from Triple A.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) July 30, 2021
The Astros spent this trade deadline bolstering their bullpen which it sorely needed and the front office did their due diligence in getting guys who could help us out out tremendously.
While the bullpen has seen improvements from recent trades, this one leaves Houston even thinner in center field depth.
Stay tuned to the Crawfish Boxes for more in-depth analysis of the Straw for Maton/Diaz trade and much more!