Verlander traded to Houston
The Houston Astros acquired Justin Verlander from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, adding the right-hander to a rotation that already features Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers.
The 34-year-old Verlander, who won the Cy Young Award in 2011, is 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA this season. In 13 years in Detroit, he was 183144 with a 3.49 ERA and six All-Star appearances.
“He’s been in the playoffs before and adds a dimension we didn’t have,” Astros owner Jim Crane said.
The Tigers will get three minor-leaguers — right-hander Franklin Perez, outfielder Daz Cameron and catcher Jake Rogers. Perez is the Astros’ third-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, with Cameron ninth and Rogers 11th.
Upton, Phillips to Angels: The Tigers also dealt outfielder Justin Upton, sending the four-time All-Star to the Los Angeles Angels hours before the Angels also acquired infielder Brandon Phillips from Atlanta.
Los Angeles, 1½ games out of the second wild-card spot, also allowed Cameron Maybin to leave on a waiver claim by the Houston Astros, clearing the way for Upton to take over in left field.
The Tigers get pitching prospect Grayson Long and cash or a player to be named for Upton, an All-Star this season who is batting .279 with 28 homers and 94 RBIs.
Phillips, a three-time AllStar and four-time Gold Glove winner who was batting .291 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs, is likely to play second for the Angels, who are struggling at the position.
The Braves get minorleague catcher Tony Sanchez from Los Angeles. Cincinnati already is paying most of Phillips’ $14 million salary for this season, making the deal very low-risk for the Angels.
Beltre hurt: Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre will have an MRI exam Friday to determine the extent of a strained left hamstring that could threaten to end his 20th MLB season only weeks after his 3,000th career hit.
Beltre was injured when fielding a slow hopper in the seventh inning of the Rangers’ 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday. Beltre took a couple of steps after fielding the ball and it became immediately clear when he hopped up awkwardly without trying to make a throw that something was wrong.
“It’s not good,” a clearly distraught Beltre said afterward about his level of pain.
Briefly: The Philadelphia Phillies picked up reliever Juan Nicasio from Pittsburgh after the Pirates opted to put Nicasio on outright waivers rather than let him go to what general manager Neal Huntington called a “direct competitor.” Nicasio, 31, was 2-5 with a 2.65 ERA in a teamhigh 65 appearances in Pittsburgh . ... The Texas Rangers acquired right-handed starter Miguel Gonzalez from the Chicago White Sox for minorleague infielder Ti’Quan Forbes. The 33-year-old righty is 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA in his past five starts.