Red Sox Trade Infielder Jed Lowrie, Pitcher Kyle Weiland to Astros for Reliever Mark Melancon

by Ben Watanabe on Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 4:07PM

In need of bullpen help, the Red Sox made a swap with the Astros on Wednesday.

The Red Sox got a "bullpen piece" in return for Kyle Weiland, ESPN.com and Baseball America writer Jerry Crasnick tweeted Wednesday morning. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted the player from Houston was Mark Melancon, and that infielder Jed Lowrie is also involved in the deal.

Melancon, 26, made 71 appearances and saved 20 games for the Astros in 2011, allowing 65 hits in 74 1/3 innings. He posted 66 strikeouts while walking just 26 batters, and had a career-low 2.78 earned run average.

Weiland, 25, made five starts for the Red Sox. He went 0-3 with a 7.66 ERA.

Lowrie, 27, was a capable hitter when healthy, but has been limited by injuries for much of his four-year career. He batted .287 in 2010 with a .381 on-base percentage, but he was limited to 88 games in 2011 for a number of reasons including his wrist, shoulder and a bout with mononucleosis.