HOUSTON -- For the second time in three years, the Astros have acquired relief pitcher Kendall Graveman in a trade to help bolster their bullpen.

Graveman, acquired by the Astros from the Mariners two years ago, returns to Houston in a deal in which the Astros are sending catching prospect Korey Lee to the White Sox, the club announced on Friday. MLB Pipeline ranked Lee as the No. 5 prospect in the Astros' system.

TRADE DETAILS
Astros get: RHP Kendall Graveman
White Sox get: C Korey Lee

Graveman will slot in the back of the Astros' bullpen, helping ease the heavy workload carried by Ryan Pressly, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu and Phil Maton.

“We feel like he’s going to come in here and make an impact,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said. “You guys know what his abilities are like. He’s pitched in high-pressure innings for us, his stuff is really good. 

“He’s very competitive, the stuff moves all over the place, and so we felt like he was a fit both for the team and his ability and to jell with our clubhouse makeup. And that’s a very important thing when you're bringing players in. He has a great relationship with our players.”

Graveman left the Astros after the 2021 season and signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the White Sox, so he has one year of team control beyond this year. Lee, a first-round Draft pick in 2019, became expendable after the emergence of Yainer Diaz at catcher this year.

The year of remaining control with Graveman was key in the deal considering Maton, Neris and reliever Ryne Stanek are free agents after this season.

“That’s one of the points that made him more attractive,” Brown said. “To try to go out and get a free agent next year for one year, it would be very difficult. We’re excited that he had the extra year. 

“[Graveman is] a competitor and we know what he’s all about. We’ll be able to use him a lot next year, too.”

Graveman, 32, will bolster an Astros bullpen that has been effective, but has endured a heavy workload following a rash of injuries to Houston’s starting rotation. Graveman pitched in 45 games for the White Sox this year, striking out 42 batters and walking 20 in 44 innings. He has a 3.48 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.

“I know a lot of people there, the relationships have been built, so that’s exciting,” Graveman said. “I played in the World Series for that team. It’s an organization that also has believed in me in the past and trusted me with taking the ball and pitching for that team. 

“I’m thankful for them once again believing in me on that front, too.”

The workload endured by Houston’s bullpen made adding a reliever a priority. Abreu entered Friday tied for the MLB lead with 49 appearances. Maton was tied for fourth with 48, and Neris and Pressly had pitched in 46 games apiece.

“I think it’s really exciting,” said Maton, who was acquired by Houston three days after Graveman in 2021. “We have an opportunity to bring a guy back that we had a really good run with in ‘21. He’s a really consistent, durable reliever who can throw in leverage for us.

“I couldn't be more excited to have him back. He’s an awesome dude and I’m looking forward to getting him here.”

The Astros are still in pursuit of a starting pitcher and a left-handed bat prior to Tuesday’s 5 p.m. CT Trade Deadline, though Brown sounded like it was less likely the club would acquire a starter.

Veteran José Urquidy, who has been out since April, has one Minor League rehab start remaining before being activated off the injured list early next month to help the rotation.

“If there’s somebody that wows us and we can get a decent deal going, that would be great, although it’s not as high a priority as the bullpen was, because our bullpen was really taxed and they were used a lot,” Brown said. “If we can get a bat that makes sense, but we do feel good [that Yordan] Alvarez and [Jose] Altuve are both back, so that’s very helpful. That feels like a trade in itself to get those two big bats back.

“We feel pretty good where we are, and if we improve the team a little bit more we’ll do it if it makes sense.”