The Cleveland Indians acquired Taiwanese right-hander Hu Chih-wei in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for 18-year-old infielder Gionti Turner, the teams announced on Monday.
Hu, 25, appeared in five games in relief for the Rays last season, posting a 4.15 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13 innings.
He pitched in six games for Tampa Bay the previous season and compiled a 2.70 ERA.
The Taiwanese spent most of the season in the starting rotation at Triple-A Durham, where he went 5-7 with a 4.66 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 24 games.
Turner was Cleveland’s 27th-round pick in this year’s draft. He appeared in 46 games in the rookie-level Arizona League, batting .296 with 22 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Elsewhere, the Seattle Mariners traded left-hander James Paxton to the New York Yankees.
In return, the Mariners get three Yankees’ prospects in highly regarded left-hander Justus Sheffield, right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.
Paxton, who has two years of arbitration control left, has compiled a solid resume since his debut in 2013. He has amassed a 41-26 record, while sporting a 3.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
Last season, Paxton threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays during a season in which he went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts.
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement he was pleased with the return the club got for Paxton and noted their future plans for Sheffield.
“Justus Sheffield has an unquestionable prospect pedigree. With a combination of high-end velocity to go along with an advanced slider and a developing change-up, we think Justus has a chance to pitch at the upper portion of our rotation soon.”
The Washington Nationals signed free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki to a two-year deal.
The deal pays Suzuki US$4 million next year and US$6 million in 2010, Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal said.
Suzuki, who batted .271 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs in 105 games last season with the Atlanta Braves, is likely to replace Matt Wieters, who is a free agent coming off an injury-plagued season.
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