Braves send Gattis to Astros in 5-player trade

HOUSTON -- The Atlanta Braves traded yet another key player on Wednesday night, sending powerful Evan Gattis and right-hander James Hoyt to the Houston Astros for a trio of minor leaguers.<br /> <br /> The move comes after the Braves already shipped out top hitters - Justin Upton and Jason Heyward - earlier in the offseason after going 79-83. Houston sent right-handed pitchers Mike Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman and infielder Rio Ruiz to the Braves.<br /> <br /> The 28-year-old Gattis hit .263 with 22 homers and 52 RBIs for the Braves last season. He hit 21 homers as a rookie in 2013.<br /> <br /> Gattis is primarily a catcher, and can also play left field.<br /> <br /> The addition of Gattis leaves the Astros with five catchers on the 40-man roster. They added Hank Conger in November in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels and already had Jason Castro, Carlos Corporan and Max Stassi on the roster.<br /> <br /> Castro has been Houston's everyday catcher for the past three seasons, but struggled at the plate last season batting just .222 a year after earning an All-Star spot by hitting a career-best .276.<br /> <br /> Hoyt split last season between Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi and has been invited to spring training.<br /> <br /> Foltynewicz was a first-round pick by the Astros in 2010 and made 16 relief appearances as a rookie last season. The 23-year-old has a fastball that has routinely been clocked at more than 100 mph, but it didn't translate to success last season in his limited work in Houston where he posted a 5.30 ERA. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City where he struck out 102 batters in 21 games with 18 starts.<br /> <br /> The 20-year-old Ruiz was a fourth-round pick in 2012. He hit .293 with 37 doubles and 77 RBIs for Single-A Advanced Lancaster last season.<br /> <br /> Thurman went 7-9 with a 5.38 ERA in 26 games, with 20 starts for Single-A Quad Cities in 2014.

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