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Astros send Sutton to Reds

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By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com

04/16/09 5:28 PM ET

PITTSBURGH -- The Astros announced Thursday that they have sent Minor Leaguer Drew Sutton to the Cincinnati Reds to complete the trade that brought Jeff Keppinger to Houston near the end of Spring Training.

Sutton, 25, will report to the Louisville, the Reds' Triple-A affiliate. He was hitting .267 (4-for-15) over his first five games with Triple-A Round Rock. The utilityman had a breakout season last year at Double-A, hitting .315 for Corpus Christi with 20 home runs and 20 steals, all while playing a variety of positions.

Sutton was Corpus Christi's Most Valuable Player and was a Texas League All-Star in 2008. He led the Astros organization in a host of offensive categories, including batting average, hits, runs, walks, doubles and extra-base hits. He was originally drafted by the Astros in the 14th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.

The Reds outrighted Danny Richar to make room for Sutton on the 40-man roster. Keppinger has a six-game hitting streak and is batting .467 thus far for the Astros.

Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.