Astros bring back Graveman. Lose former first round draft pick Lee
According to Jeff Passan, the Astros added bullpen help today by acquiring Kendall Graveman feom the Chicago White Sox in return for minor league catcher and former first-round draft pick Korey Lee.
Graveman was acquired by the Astros in 2021 just before the trade deadline, and was an important piece in the roster that took the Atlanta Braves six games deep into the World Series that year.
In 2022 Graveman signed a three-year deal with the White Sox for $8 million a year. The Astros will owe him $2.84 million this year and his full $8 million next year.
Lee, the Astros’ first-round draft pick in 2019, was once considered the Astros future at the catcher position. But his disappointing hitting in AAA this year and the emergence of rookie catcher Yainer Diaz have made Lee’s position as catcher-of-the-future redundant.
Credit to departed GM James Click. In 2021 he traded Myles Straw for Phil Maton and Yainer Diaz. And now you might add Kendall Graveman to that haul, with Diaz on the brink of stardom as an Astro.
This is new GM Dana Brown’s first major move as GM. Not bad, in this writer’s opinion.