Astros release Francisco Cordero

Perhaps you already saw this, but the Astros released "closer" (snicker) Francisco Cordero.

The 37-year old pitcher was 0-3 for Houston, with a 19.80 ERA - having allowed 13H/11ER, 5K:4BB, 2HR, HBP in 5IP. In his mercifully brief stint with Houston, Cordero faced 32 batters, and got 15 of them out.

That said, if Musgrove and Wojciechowski pan out, it will have been totally worth it.

Cordero to DL, Storey up

Moar tranzactionz! Francisco Cordero has been placed on the 15-day DL with a chronic case of suck right foot sesamoiditis ("toe inflammation," says Zach Levine). To take his spot in the bullpen, the Astros have purchased the contract of RHP Mickey Storey from Oklahoma City.

Storey, 26, will be making his major league debut after five seasons in the minors. Acquired by trade from Oakland last season, he's put up a 7-4 record with a 3.05 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 in 65 innings primarily of relief work (2 starts in 38 games).

If my count is correct, this move puts Houston's 40-man roster back at a full 40.

Castro may return next week

In the latest edition of Brian McTaggart's Notebook, Jason Castro says that his troublesome right knee is feeling better, with the possibility that he'll be back on the field for Houston in about a week.

Also in Tag's notes:

*Wilton Lopez was on call as Houston's closer last night. Whether CoCo gets another shot remains to be seen...

*Wesley Wright (2008) and Bud Norris (2009) are now your Astros' senior statesmen.

*Pittsburgh's starter on Saturday will look awfully familiar, as Magic Wandy ups his street cred with a new fight song.

Post-trade tranzactionz

In light of this morning's mega-deal, we've got a whole bundle of roster moves for you:

*Dallas Keuchel will be recalled from OKC to take J.A. Happ's spot in the rotation, starting tomorrow.
*Francisco Cordero and Ben Francisco will join the big club today in Phoenix, taking Happ's and Lyon's immediate spots, but another move will need to make room for Keuchel by tomorrow's game.

Thanks to the Chronicle, we learn:

*Asher Wojciechowski is headed to AA Corpus Christi.
*Carlos Perez will go to high-A Lancaster.
*David Rollins is going to low-A Lexington.
*Joe Musgrove will report to Rookie-ball Greeneville.

Also, courtesy of Greg Rajan, catcher Chris Wallace is moving up to OKC from Corpus, and catcher Ben Heath is moving up to Corpus from Lancaster (where Perez will take his spot).

And, not a transaction, but Jeff Luhnow says that even with Cordero's arrival, Brett Myers remains the Astros' closer... "for now."

Astros make 10-player mega-deal with Toronto

WHOA. Apparently Jeff Luhnow was as pissed about last night's loss as the rest of us. This morning the Astros announced a 10-player trade with Toronto. Gone to the Blue Jays are:

LHP J.A. Happ
RHP Brandon Lyon
RHP David Carpenter

Coming back to the Astros:

RHP Francisco Cordero
OF Ben Francisco
RHP Joseph Musgrove
RHP Asher Wojciechowski
LHP David Rollins
C Carlos Perez
...and a PTBNL

The first two are Major League pieces; the rest are minor leaguers, although Clark Goble points out that three of them were among Toronto's top 11 prospects.

Francisco Cordero is a three-time All-Star closer, though he's 37 now and his best days are behind him. He has a 5.77 ERA in 34.1 IP this season.

Ben Francisco is a 30-year-old corner outfielder known to Astros fans primarily as a Phillie from 2009-2011. He has a .240/.296/.380 line in 50 major-league ABs this season.

Joseph Musgrove, Toronto's #11 prospect, is a right-handed starter and was a supplemental first-round pick last season. He 19 years old, with a 1.12 ERA in two games (one start) for Rookie-league Bluefield.

Asher Wojciechowski, Toronto's #10 prospect, is also a right-handed starter and was a supplemental first-round pick in 2010. He's 23 years old, 7-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 18 starts for high-A Dunedin.

David Rollins, 22, is a lefty starter out of San Jacinto College North, drafted in the 24th round last year. He's 6-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 18 starts for Class A Lansing this year.

Carlos Perez, Toronto's #8 prospect, is a 21-year-old catcher from Venezuela. He posted a .275/.358/.447 line with 5 HR and 40 RBI in 273 ABs for Class A Lansing.

Much more on this to come later, I'm certain...

Reactions to G20 - Astros at Reds

Hunter Pence:
“Roy Oswalt is the story of the game. He came out and pitched an unbelievable game. He kept us in it. The offense took awhile to get started. His outing is the reason we were able to win.”

Cooper, on Roy:
“He was solid tonight. And this is the way Roy’s going to be pitching for us all year. That’s what we anticipate. “Tonight was what we ordered, just what we ordered. We needed Roy to go deep in the ballgame tonight, and he did a great job, and then Tim Byrdak and Chris both pitched well for us at the end and closed it out. That’s what we need: clutch hits and some good pitching.””

Berkman, on playing in Cincinnati:
“It’s kind of funny. When I’m struggling, I’ll start feeling better, and I’ll look up at the schedule and we’ll have a trip coming in here.”

Oswalt, on his no decision:
“The team won. That’s all we’re looking for.”

Tejada, on the fourth inning error/injury:
"I just dropped it. I went running to the base, and I think that's why that ball just hit in the middle of my glove. I think I put my head down a little bit. The ball hit me right in my glove."

Reds closer Francisco Cordero:
“I’m not happy because of the way Johnny Cueto pitches. He pitched great. He gave the team a chance to win. I’ve got to make better decisions, better pitches. It happens but I’m a little bit upset.”