SURPRISE, AZ – The Kansas City Royals today announced that the club has acquired catcher Humberto Quintero and outfielder Jason Bourgeois from the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league pitcher Kevin Chapman and a minor league player to be named. To make room on the Royals 40-man roster, the club placed catchers Salvador Perez (surgery on left knee for torn meniscus) and Manuel Pina (surgery on right knee for torn meniscus) on the 60-Day Disabled List.
The 32-year-old Quintero (full name is pronounced “hum-BEAR-toe” “kin-TEAR-o”) is a nine-year Major League veteran of the San Diego Padres (2003-04) and Houston Astros (2005-11). The right-handed hitter batted .240 (63-for-262) with 12 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 25 RBI and 22 runs scored in 79 games with the Astros in 2011. In 379 career games, Quintero is a .234 hitter with 15 home runs and 94 RBI. Defensively, he has a career fielding percentage of .992 and has thrown out 53 of 192 attempted basestealers for a 27.6 percent clip. The five-foot-nine, 216-pounder is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, but currently resides in Pearland, Texas.
Bourgeois (pronounced “Boosh-wah”), 30, played in a career-best 93 games for Houston last season, batting .294 (70-for-238) with eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 16 RBI and 30 runs scored. The speedy and versatile outfielder also recorded 31 stolen bases in 37 attempts while playing all three outfield positions. In his four-year big league career with the White Sox (2008), Brewers (2009) and Astros (2010-11), Bourgeois compiled a .262 average in 192 games with 46 steals in 56 attempts. The right-handed hitter is a career .369 (61-for-186) batter against left-handed pitching. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, he was originally a second-round selection of the Texas Rangers in 2000.
Chapman, 24, split the 2011 season between Wilmington (High A) and Northwest Arkansas (AA). He was the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2010 Draft out of the University of Florida.
