Minor League Baseball

Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros Complete Trade with Minor Leaguer as Player to Be Named

Patrick Halligan, who has yet to play in the major leagues, is joining the Astros' Double-A affiliate in Corpus Christi.
Jami Leabow|
Patrick Halligan of Pensacola State delivers a pitch at Gulf Coast State College in the first of a four-game series Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
Patrick Halligan of Pensacola State delivers a pitch at Gulf Coast State College in the first of a four-game series Tuesday, April 6, 2021. | MIKE FENDER / THE NEWS HERALD via Imagn Content Services, LLC

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Houston AstrosAtlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves finalized their earlier trade to the Houston Astros on Friday, sending minor league right-handed pitcher Patrick Halligan west.

On Tuesday, the Astros traded right-hander Rafael Montero, 34, and cash to the Braves, with terms calling for either cash or a player to be named later in return. The Astros announced Friday that the player they are receiving is Halligan.

Halligan, 25, was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Pensacola State College in Florida. He has yet to make his major league debut.

Halligan was released by the Royals on April 23, 2023, and picked by the Braves days later.

Halligan has spent five seasons in the minor leagues and has an 11-15 record with a 4.39 ERA and six saves in 107 games (16) starts. He has 218 strikeouts in 209 innings with a 2.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Before the trade, he was on the roster of Double-A Columbus and had given up two runs on one hit in one inning in the early days of the season. He has been assigned to the Astros’ Double-A affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, where the Astros can try to develop him into a major league reliever.

Montero won the World Series with the Astros in 2022.

He made his debut in the majors in 2014 with the New York Mets and spent four seasons there. After missing all of 2019 with an injury, Montero played with the Texas Rangers (2019-20) and Seattle Mariners (2021) before being traded to Houston at the 2021 trade deadline.

So far with the Braves, Montero has pitched one scoreless inning.

In his career, Montero is 22-28 with a 4.70 ERA and 47 saves in 325 games (30 starts).

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.