Phillies-Astros deal involves 7 players

Closer Ken Giles was traded from the Phillies to the Houston Astros as part of a sevenplayer deal that sent former Stanford No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel to Philadelphia.

Shortstop Jonathan Arauz also was sent to the Astros, and right-handers Vincent Velasquez, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz went to the Phillies along with left-hander Brett Oberholtzer. The trade was agreed to at the winter meetings and announced Saturday.

A 25-year-old right-hander, Giles took over as closer after the trade of Jonathan Papelbon to Washington last summer. Giles, who made his big-league debut in 2014, went 6-3 with a 1.80 ERA and 15 saves in 20 chances this year, holding batters to a .219 average. His fastball averages 97 to 98 mph and has reached 100 mph; Giles has 151 strikeouts over 1152⁄3 innings in two big-league seasons.

Luke Gregerson had 31 saves in 36 chances this year for the Astros, who reached the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Appel, 24, who pitched at Stanford, was the top pick in the 2013 draft. Appel was 4-1 with a 4.26 ERA this year in Double-A, then went 5-2 with a 4.48 ERA at Triple-A Fresno. He is 16-11 with a 5.12 ERA in 54 minor-league games.

The Phillies acquired righthander Charlie Morton from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor-league pitcher David Whitehead.

Morton, 32, has a record of 45-70 with a 3.91 ERA. He went 9-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 23 starts for the Pirates in 2015, missing the first two months while recovering from a procedure on his hip. Morton won six of his first seven starts, but struggled after the All-Star break, going 3-7 with a 5.81 ERA in the second half.

Morton is scheduled to make $8 million in 2016, with a team option of $9.5 million in 2017.