The Houston Astros will acquire pitcher Kai-Wei Teng and send a rookie catcher to the San Francisco Giants.

According to insider reports from Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Houston Astros are set to receive right-handed pitcher Kai-Wei Teng from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor league catcher Jancel Villarroel. The trade has not yet been officially confirmed by either team.

Trade Details
Astros Receive: Right-handed pitcher Kai-Wei Teng
Giants Receive: Catcher Jancel Villarroel (originally the Astros’ 13th-ranked farm system prospect)

The 27-year-old Teng appeared in 12 Major League games for the Giants over the past two seasons (starting in 7), posting a 7.30 ERA with 46 strikeouts and 25 walks across 40.2 innings pitched.

Teng uses a low arm slot and features a five-pitch mix, with his sweeper (a sweeping slider) as his primary weapon. In the 2025 season, he threw this pitch 39% of the time in the majors, holding opposing hitters to a .191 batting average and generating a 34.6% swing-and-miss rate against it.

Teng will add depth to the Astros’ starting rotation, which will look quite different in 2026. During the offseason, the team signed Tatsuya Imai and Ryan Weiss, and acquired Mike Burrows via trade to strengthen a pitching staff that struggled with injuries last year.

The Astros signed Villarroel from Venezuela in 2022. By the end of the 2025 season, he ranked as the Astros’ 13th top prospect. At 21 years old, he played 100 games between Class A Fayetteville and Advanced A Asheville, posting a slash line of .259/.351/.388 with 18 doubles and 20 stolen bases. Standing 1.73 meters (5 feet 8 inches) tall, Villarroel primarily serves as a catcher but also started 22 games in the outfield.