Former Benjamin Russell High School standout Kendall Graveman is returning to the Houston Astros and the American League pennant race.

The Chicago White Sox announced on Friday that Graveman had been traded to the Astros for prospect Korey Lee. It’s the second time that Houston has traded for Graveman to bolster its bullpen.

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline coming up on Tuesday, Graveman goes from the White Sox, who have a 41-63 record and trail the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central by 13 games, to the Astros, who have a 58-45 record and trail the Texas Rangers by two games in the AL West.

Graveman had a 3-4 record with a 3.48 earned-run average and eight saves in 45 relief appearances for Chicago in 2023. In 44 innings, he has yielded 33 hits and 20 walks while striking out 42.

Graveman ranks 12th among American League pitchers in appearances, but the Astros have four relievers who have pitched in more games than Graveman this season.

Friday’s trade comes two years and one day after the Astros’ first trade to acquire Graveman. In 2021, Houston got Graveman from the Seattle Mariners, and he pitched in three games in the World Series that season.

After the 2021 campaign, Graveman signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the White Sox.

MLB Pipeline ranked Lee as the No. 5 prospect in Houston’s minor-league system. A first-round selection in the 2019 draft, the catcher is batting .283 with five home runs and 12 stolen bases for the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

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A four-year starter as a pitcher and shortstop at Benjamin Russell in Alexander City, Graveman went to Mississippi State after posting a 6-3 record with a 1.19 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 63 innings as a high school senior.

At Mississippi State, Graveman compiled a career record of 19-13 with a 3.69 ERA in 68 appearances before departing as an eighth-round choice of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2013 draft.

In his first full minor-league season, Graveman had a 14-6 record with a 1.83 ERA at four levels in the Toronto system before making his MLB debut as a September callup in 2014.

One of the four players traded by the Blue Jays to the Athletics on Nov. 28, 2014, for former Faith Academy and Auburn star Josh Donaldson, Graveman had a 23-29 record in 78 starts for Oakland before sustaining an arm injury.

Graveman had Tommy John surgery in 2018, and he didn’t play in a big-league game between May 11, 2018, and July 27, 2020.

Graveman’s past 172 MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen.

In his career, Graveman has a 35-41 record with a 4.00 ERA and 24 saves in 257 games. In 629.2 innings, Graveman has 470 strikeouts.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.