Royals Trade Beltran To Astros

The full-scale dismantling of a once-promising team is in full swing. The Royals traded center fielder Carlos Beltran to the Astros in a three team deal, that also included the A’s Thursday. In return, the Royals get three prosects—two of which will immediately be to the team’s roster. From Houston, the Royals got catcher John Buck, who will step in behind the plate while Benito Santiago and Kelly Stinnett get healthy on the disabled list. Buck hit .300 with 12 homers and 35 RBI’s at Class-AAA New Orleans. The Royals got two players from the Oakland farm system—right handed pitcher Mike Wood and third baseman Mark Teahen. Wood, 24, will also be brought up to Kansas City to join the big-league team. He was 11-3 with a 2.80 ERA for Class-AAA Sacramento. He had 66 strikeouts and 24 walks in 90 innings of work. Teahen, 22, will head to Omaha to get more seasoning. He’s played 20 games in Class-AAA this season hitting .275—before that he hit .335 with 36 RBI’s in 53 games at Class-AA Midland. Filling Beltran’s absence in center field will be David DeJesus, who was called up from Omaha yesterday.