KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced tonight that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Albert Abreu from the Texas Rangers for right-handed pitcher Yohanse Morel. Abreu, who was designated for assignment on Monday, will be added the Kansas City’s 40-man roster. A corresponding move will be announced at a later date.
Abreu, 26, posted a 3.12 ERA (3 ER in 8.2 IP) with 9 strikeouts and a .138 opponents’ average (4-for-29) in 7 appearances with Texas this season. He was acquired by the Rangers from the Yankees on April 2 and pitched in six of Texas’ first 20 games before spending almost three weeks on the Injured List with a sprained left ankle. He returned from the IL with a scoreless inning last Saturday at Oakland.
Abreu signed with Houston out of the Dominican Republic in 2013 and spent the first three seasons of his professional career in the Astros organization. In November 2016, he was traded to the Yankees in a three-player deal for Brian McCann.
Abreu made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 2020 and appeared in 28 games with the Yankees last season, going 2-0 with 1 save and 35 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.
Morel, 21, was 2-2 with a 4.08 ERA (8 ER in 17.2 IP) in 10 appearances with High-A Quad Cities this season. He signed with the Nationals out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and was acquired by Kansas City with two others in 2018 for Kelvin Herrera.
