Houston Astros acquired Ty Wigginton from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday for relief pitcher Dan Wheeler. Wigginton was hitting .275 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs in 98 games this season. Last year, he had a career-high 24 homers and 79 RBIs. Since Wigginton isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2009 season, the trade could signal the end of Morgan Ensberg’s career in Houston.
Wheeler (1-4, 5.07 ERA) leads the Astros with 11 saves, but has blown four this season. Wheeler had a 2.41 ERA with 146 strikeouts in 159 innings over the previous three seasons.
Earlier Saturday, Tampa Bay traded for minor league reliever Brian Shackelford from Cincinnati, and sent down struggling reliever Shawn Camp. On Friday they added reliever Grant Balfour in a trade with the Brewers.