Former No. 1 pick Mark Appel included in Astros deal for Ken Giles

On Wednesday we learned the Houston Astros landed their desired bullpen piece, reaching an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire dynamic reliever Ken Giles.

Three days later, that deal is now official. However, unlike when most known trades become officially official, the final trade actually looks significantly different than what was originally reported.

Giles is still the centerpiece of the deal and he's still going to Houston. However, what started as a 4-for-1 trade is now a 5-for-2, with shortstop prospect Jonathan Arauz now going to Houston as well. The most notable difference comes on the Phillies side though, where former No. 1 pick Mark Appel was added to the return headed back to Philadelphia.

Originially the Phillies were slated to receive pitchers Thomas Eshelman, Brett Oberholtzer and Vincent Velasquez, along with outfield prospect Derek Fisher. The three pitchers remained in the deal, but Fisher is out after being replaced by Appel and right-hander Harold Arauz.

Got all that?

Good.

Though no explanation for how we arrived at this final deal has been given, the changes are certainly notable. Especially with Appel now included. In the last week, we've now seen two former No. 1 overall picks traded before making their major league debut, which is a very rare occurence in MLB. The other being Dansby Swanson, who was traded to the Atlanta Braves in the Shelby Miller deal.

Appel is a vastly different story from Swanson though. Whereas Swanson, the 2015 No. 1 pick, has barely had a chance to get his feet wet yet, Appel has struggled to gain traction through two-plus seasons in the minor leagues. Now 24, the former can't miss prospect posted a 4.37 ERA in 131 2/3 innings between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno this past season, indicating that's still not quite ready to make the jump.

Here's how Baseball America's Ben Badler views Appel going into the trade.

Vincent Velasquez figures to be the main piece for Philadelphia, though given their current rebuilding plans there should be opportunities for everybody involved at some point, including Appel.

Also drawing attention in this deal is the inclusion of both Jonathan Arauz and Harold Arauz. There was early speculation that they may be related, which would give this deal another unique twist. However, that notion seems to have been dismissed.

Jonathan Arauz, the one headed to Houston, appears to be a nice get too. Badler had him ranked No. 20 among Gulf Coast League prospects last season, indicating he has some upside as a middle infielder.

Time will tell how this trade plays out, but it certainly got a lot more interesting with these significant changes announced.