NEW YORK — The New York Yankees traded veteran catcher Brian McCann and $11 million to the Houston Astros on Thursday for a pair of young minor league pitchers.

Houston sent right-handers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman to the Yankees.

McCann is a seven-time All-Star, but his playing time diminished in the second half of the season as rookie Gary Sanchez emerged as a power hitter behind the plate. Sanchez hit 20 home runs in just 53 games.

The 32-year-old McCann hit .242 with 20 homers and 58 RBI this season.

Jason Castro made the most starts at catcher for the Astros last year, batting .210 with 11 homers and 32 RBI.

McCann has 245 career homers with 888 RBI while batting .266. This was McCann’s third season in New York after signing an $85 million, five-year deal as a free agent.

McCann is due $17 million in each of the next two seasons, and the Yankees will pay $5.5 million both years.

The 21-year-old Abreu was a combined 3-8 with a 3.72 ERA for two teams in Class A. The 20-year-old Guzman was a combined 3-4 with a 4.05 ERA with two rookie-level teams.

COMMISSIONER ROB Manfred says baseball wants to study high-profile positions within the sport to see if certain qualifications predict success, a step that “has everything to do” with minority hiring.

Baseball had no Latino managers before Rick Renteria took over the White Sox last month, and Dusty Baker of the Nationals and Dave Roberts from the Dodgers are the only black skippers. But there were 10 minority managers as recently as 2009.

“Certain perceptions develop as to what people are looking for in particular positions and then people write stories saying, ‘Oh, that’s a problem on the minority front because, you know, maybe minorities are less likely to share these characteristics,”‘ Manfred said Thursday at the conclusion of two days of owners’ meetings.

“I think a first step in addressing those concerns is identifying which ones really matter and then you start to identify candidates who have all those qualifications and say, hey this may be the perfect guy for you and I have some science behind it in order to demonstrate that he is the best candidate, or she.”

• Owners approved changes with the leadership structures in Oakland and Philadelphia, with John Fisher becoming the control person of the Athletics and John Middleton taking over the same position with the Phillies. The A’s announced that Lew Wolff will be transitioning from managing partner to chairman emeritus, and that he had agreed to sell most of his interest to the remaining owners.

METS: Closer Jeurys Familia was drunk and “going crazy,” his wife said in a call to police early Halloween morning before he was charged with assaulting her.

Bianca Rivas made several frantic 911 calls to police in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on Oct. 31, starting at 2:18 a.m., NJ.com reported.

The 27-year-old pitcher was arrested and charged with simple assault. Familia pleaded not guilty last week and left the court with his wife. The charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and two years of probation.

Familia faces a suspension if he’s found to have violated MLB’s domestic violence policy.

DODGERS: Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday at the White House.

Scully retired last month after spending his entire 67-year career in the booth for the Dodgers. He turns 89 on Nov. 27.

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