HOUSTON – The Houston Astros traded the Minnesota Twins for reliever Ryan Pressly.
The deal was announced Friday night.
Houston sent minor-league prospects Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino.
Pressly, 29, has the fifth best whiff percentage in the American League. Opposing hitters have whiffed on 36.6 percent of their swings against him.
He has struck out 69 batters in 47.2 innings pitched this season. Among all AL relievers, he ranks tied for second in appearances (51), tied for third in strikeouts and seventh in strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched ratio (13.03).
According to the Astros, Alcala, 23, has gone 3-7 with a 3.29 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 19 games (12 starts) between Double A Corpus Christi and Class A Advanced Buies Creek this year. The Dominican native was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent on Dec. 3, 2014.
Celestino, 19, has batted .299 with eight doubles, four homers and 21 RBI in 36 total games between Double A Corpus Christi and Class A Short Season Tri-City this year. A native of the Dominican Republic, Celestino was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2015.
MLB Pipeline released their latest top 30 prospects by team this week, Alcala was rated the Astros 10th best prospect, Celestino was number 15.