Houston Astros: Are the remaining top relievers worth signing?
By Kyle Cardoza
The Houston Astros will be without its most dominant bullpen asset in 2019. But is that enough of a reason to willingly sign a top reliever, given how much money it will cost?
The Houston Astros lost one of their best relief pitchers this offseason. But Collin McHugh didn’t depart to a different team or free agency, just to the starting rotation.
Nevertheless, Houston’s front office needs to replace the efficient right-hander in the pen.
There are already several viable options for the Astros on their roster. Yet none of them offer a 2018 resume with a sub-2.00 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP and a strikeout-to-walk ratio near 4.50.
Only a few MLB pitchers can claim they have matched those numbers before. Yet, a few of them remain on the free agent market, including Adam Ottavino and Craig Kimbrel.
The issue remains whether Houston’s front office is comfortable with spending more than $10 million a year to strengthen the bullpen. That significant amount of money could be allocated for a starting pitcher. That’s what the Astros arguably need most at this time.
Houston’s relief corps was also the best in the league in ERA and multiple other categories. But the Astros ranked second-to-last in relief innings, indicating that it helped having a strong starting rotation.
Even without McHugh, Houston can still rely on effective pitchers like Roberto Osuna and Hector Rondon. Ryan Pressly also enjoyed a strong second half last year while in Texas, sporting a sub-1.00 ERA.
But even with strong track records, relievers can be inconsistent. Chris Devenski acts as an example, as he was arguably the most efficient Astros pitcher in 2016 and 2017.
Yet he wasn’t as dominant last year, registering an ERA near 4.00. He also wasn’t as effective against left-handed hitters, which made him one of the more dependable pitchers in prior seasons.
Houston has an opportunity to sign one of the better relief pitchers before Spring Training begins. But are any of these superb options worth signing?