ASTROS TO CALL UP CASTRO, JOHNSON & BOURGEOIS FROM TRIPLE A

ASTROS TO CALL UP CASTRO, JOHNSON & BOURGEOIS FROM TRIPLE A

Will Designate Cash, Daigle & Sullivan For Assignment

HOUSTON, TX–The Houston Astros have announced plans to purchase the contracts of catcher Jason Castro and outfielder Jason Bourgeois and to recall third baseman Chris Johnson, all from Triple A Round Rock. Astros General Manager Ed Wade made the announcement.

Wade also announced that the ballclub will designate catcher Kevin Cash, right-handed pitcher Casey Daigle and outfielder Cory Sullivan for assignment. The Astros have 10 days to either trade, release or assign outright the contracts of the designated players.

All of today’s announced moves are effective on Tuesday, June 22.

Castro, who turned 23 on Friday, entered today hitting .265 in 57 games at Round Rock with four home runs, 26 RBI and 32 walks in what is his first season in Triple A. After a slow start that saw him hit .226 in April, Castro has hit .278 since May 1 with four homers and 20 RBI. Last night, he hit a two-run home run vs. Omaha. Castro, who was the Astros first pick in the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft, hit .313 in 16 games for the Astros in Spring Training this year. In 2009, in what was his first full professional season, Castro hit a combined .300 at Lancaster (A) and Corpus Chrisit (AA) with 10 HR and 73 RBI. Additionally, he played for the U.S. squad in the All-Star Futures game (hit 3-run HR), was a member of the Gold Medal winning Team U.S.A. squad in the IBAF World Cup in September and started for the West squad in the Arizona Fall League’s Rising Stars game in November.

Houston native Bourgeois, 28, entered today fifth in the Pacific Coast League in batting with a .345 clip in 65 games at Round Rock. He was also tied for fourth in the league in stolen bases (18) and tied for eighth in on-base-pct. (.405). Bourgeois, who was claimed off waivers by Houston from Milwaukee on October 26, 2009, hit .321 in 13 Spring Training games for the Astros with two triples and a .412 on-base-pct. Bourgeois has appeared in 30 Major League games in his career, six for the White Sox in 2008 and 24 for the Brewers last season.

This will be the second Major League stint for the 25-year-old Johnson in 2010. He opened the season with the Astros, appearing in eight games (.227, 5×22) before being placed on the 15-day Disabled List on April 20th with a strained right intercostal muscle. On May 8th, he was activated from the DL and optioned to Round Rock, where he is hitting .329 in 38 games with eight home runs, 33 RBI and a .570 slugging pct (entering today). In Spring Training, Johnson, who was the Astros fourth pick in the 2006 Draft, led the Grapefruit League in both HR (8) and RBI (22) in 25 games. Johnson has appeared in 19 Major League games the last two seasons combined for the Astros.

Cash, who entered today hitting .216 in 19 games, has been with the Astros big club since having his contract purchased from Round Rock on May 5. He was signed by Houston as a minor league free agent on January 22 of this year. Daigle has a 7.50 ERA (5ER/6.0IP) in eight appearances for the Astros with two walks and three strikeouts. He began the 2010 season at Round Rock before having his contract purchased on June 1. Sullivan, who was signed by Houston as a minor league free agent on January 20 of this year and made the club out of Spring Training,  entered today hitting .190 (12×63) in 56 games, with most of his at-bats coming in a pinch-hitting role.

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