TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays traded utility infielder Aledmys Diaz to the Houston Astros on Saturday for starting pitcher Trent Thornton.

Thornton, 25, posted a 9-8 record with a 4.42 earned-run average in 24 games for the triple-A Fresno Grizzlies in 2018.

The six-foot, 175-pound, right-handed pitcher was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 June Amateur Draft.

Thornton, from Pittsburgh, owns a career record of 32-19 and a 4.23 ERA over four Minor League seasons with 395 strikeouts and 78 starts in 88 appearances.

Diaz, 28, hit .263 with 26 doubles, 18 home runs, with 55 runs batted in over 130 games in 2018.

The six-foot-one, 195-pound native of Santa Clara, Cuba, has a career batting average of .275 with 42 home runs, 140 RBIs with the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto.