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Happy birthday Hailey Karvaski!

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Rain, snow showers in the forecast this weekend

<p>NEW YORK &#8212; Brian McCann still wanted to catch, a lot. So with his options limited in the New York Yankees&#8217; lineup, the seven-time All-Star gladly accepted a new opportunity in Houston.</p><p>McCann waived his no-trade clause and was sent, along with $11 million, to the Astros on Thursday for a pair of young minor league pitchers.</p><p>The Yankees acquired right-handers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.</p><p>&#8220;It had to be the right fit,&#8221; McCann said on a conference call. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t going to be just anywhere.&#8221;</p><p>McCann&#8217;s playing time diminished in the second half of the season as rookie Gary Sanchez emerged as a power hitter behind the plate. Sanchez hit 20 home runs in just 53 games.</p><p>&#8220;It was like nothing I&#8217;d ever seen before. He was the best player in the game,&#8221; McCann said.</p><p>The 32-year-old McCann hit .242 with 20 homers and 58 RBIs this year.</p><p>&#8220;We entered the offseason with the acquisition of a catcher as a primary focus,&#8221; Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement.</p><p>&#8220;Brian McCann is a great fit for the Astros as he is not only a good defensive catcher, he is also a left-handed hitter with proven run-producing ability,&#8221; he said. &#8220;His experience and his ability to impact his teammates will be a significant benefit to our team.&#8221;</p><p>Jason Castro made the most starts at catcher for the Astros last year, batting .210 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs.</p><p>Evan Gattis, known more for his slugging than his catching, also saw time at the spot.</p><p>Houston and the Yankees met in the AL wild-card game in 2015. They both went 84-78 this year and missed the playoffs.</p><p>McCann made 86 starts at catcher last season, his fewest since he was a rookie with Atlanta in 2005. He figured next year in New York likely would mean catching once a week, plus some platoon time as a designated hitter.</p><p>&#8220;I wanted to catch every day,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I feel like I still have a lot of good years left.&#8221;</p><p>McCann also likes what he sees in the Astros, praising &#8220;a lot of great young pieces.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I wanted to be a part of it,&#8221; he said.</p><p>McCann hit 24 homers in 2006 and has hit at least 18 home runs in every season since then. He has 245 career homers with 888 RBIs while batting .266.</p><p>This was McCann&#8217;s third season in New York after signing an $85 million, five-year deal as a free agent.</p><p>McCann is due $17 million in each of the next two seasons, and the Yankees will pay $5.5 million both years.</p><p>The Yankees had a $15 million option for 2019 with no buyout. The option became McCann&#8217;s if he had at least 1,000 plate appearances combined in 2017 and 2018, had at least 90 starts at catcher in 2018 and didn&#8217;t end up that season on the disabled list.</p><p>The 21-year-old Abreu was a combined 3-8 with a 3.72 ERA for two teams in Class A. The 20-year-old Guzman was a combined 3-4 with a 4.05 ERA with two rookie-level teams.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The New York Yankees traded veteran catcher Brian McCann and $11 million to the Houston Astros on Thursday for a pair of young minor league pitchers. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_McCann.jpg</photo0><caption0>The New York Yankees traded veteran catcher Brian McCann and $11 million to the Houston Astros on Thursday for a pair of young minor league pitchers. </caption0><photoCredit0>Chris O&#8217;Meara | AP file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ben Walker</p><p>AP Baseball Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Yankees trade Brian McCann to Houston Astros