By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Friday that they have acquired 10-year veteran RHP Pat Neshek from the Houston Astros in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. In conjunction with the move, they have exercised Neshek's $6.5 million club option for 2017.
Neshek, 36, has a career 2.93 ERA with 378 strikeouts and 120 walks through 383 1/3 innings. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the sixth round of the 2002 amateur draft, before making his Major League debut four years later at the age of 25.
"It’s going to be great. I’m going to have a lot better opportunity with the Phillies than with the Astros," Nishek said in conversation with MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported on Monday that Neshek had been made available on the trade market, along with former Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz of the Los Angeles Dodgers and right-hander Fernando Rodney of the Miami Marlins.
The Madison, Wisconsin, native's best season to date occurred in 2014 with the St. Louis Cardinals, when in receiving an All-Star nomination he went 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA and 68 strikeouts spanning 67 1/3 innings.
