The New York Yankees acquired shortstop Gregorio Petit from the Houston Astros for a player to be named or cash, according to @astros. 

Petit did not make the team with the Astros and was reassigned to minor-league camp on Sunday, but now he has a legitimate shot to be the backup shortstop because of Brendan Ryan's injury that occurred in Wednesday's game. 

The trade just shows how serious Ryan's injury must be. A few games would not force the Yankees to make this deal, so it much be an issue that will carry deep into the season. 

As for now, it looks like Petit will be fighting for a current spring training starting shortstop job with Nick Noonan because regular starter Didi Gregorius is still nursing a wrist injury. However, Gregorius' swelling in his wrist is declining according to Chad Jennings of LoHud.com. Gregorius should be back by Thursday, so the Petit vs. Noonan battle will end up being for a backup role once the season rolls around. 

Petit has played in 27 games at shortstop, 16 games at second base and 12 games at third base over three major league seasons. He was signed by the Oakland Athletics in 2001 after defecting from Venezuela. 

Petit slashed .278/.300/.423 with 27 hits, eight doubles, two homers and nine RBIs over 37 games and 97 at-bats with the Astros in 2014. The 30-year-old had a 0.8 WAR and the Astros were just over .500 with Petit in the lineup. 

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Evan Petzold
Evan Petzold is a Detroit-based journalist with expertise in covering the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings. A member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) and Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DBSA), he brings a unique skill set in reporting and broadcasting to the table.