Astros acquire closer Cordero in Toronto trade

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros acquired closer Francisco Cordero and outfielder Ben Francisco as part of a 10-player trade with Toronto on Friday.

Houston will also receive four minor leaguers in the deal — right-handed pitchers Joe Musgrove and Asher Wojciechowski, left-handed pitcher David Rollins, catcher Carlos Perez and a player to be named later.

The Blue Jays, who entered Friday at 45-47 and in last place in the AL East, will receive pitchers Brandon Lyon, J.A. Happ and David Carpenter from Houston.

"This is a very good deal for us," Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "Once again, we are adding depth to our minor league system with quality young players. We really feel this will help us moving forward and are extremely excited about the players we've added to our organization."

Cordero has 329 career saves, second among active players to the New York Yankees' Mariano Rivera (608). In 794 career relief appearances, the 37-year-old Cordero has a 3.28 ERA and has reached 40 or more saves in three seasons. Cordero is 3-5 with two saves in 41 appearances for Toronto this season.

Francisco is hitting .244 in 23 games for Toronto in 2012. He has a .259 career average with 45 home runs in 483 career games with Cleveland, Philadelphia and Toronto.

Lyon signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the Astros in December 2009. He struggled with tendinitis in his right biceps in 2011 and appeared in only 15 games. He's 0-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 37 appearances this season.

The left-throwing Happ is 7-9 with a 4.83 ERA in 18 starts this season, his third in Houston. Carpenter, playing for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City, was 0-2 with a 6.07 ERA in 30 relief appearances for the Astros this season.

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