Call to the pen
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Houston Astros: Three budget friendly players to sign

By James Simmons

Alex Colome #48 of the Chicago White Sox pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of the Wild Card Round Game One at RingCentral Coliseum on September 29, 2020 in Oakland, California. The White Sox won the game 4-1. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Alex Colome #48 of the Chicago White Sox pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning of the Wild Card Round Game One at RingCentral Coliseum on September 29, 2020 in Oakland, California. The White Sox won the game 4-1. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Alex Colome would make a great addition to the Houston Astros.
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Alex Colome

I know the popular choice here is Liam Hendriks. Alex Colome is cheaper and will sign for fewer years. Colome needs to be the closer in 2021 for the Houston Astros.

The incumbent closer is Ryan Pressly and while he pitched admirably last year, he was only keeping the seat warm for a more established stopper this season. The Astros need to keep Pressly from appearing in 60 games next year, and keeping his $10M option vesting for the ’22 season.

Greinke, Justin Verlander, and some other $60M come off the books after this year as well. At that point, the Astros can target a closer long term.

MLB Trade Rumors predicts Colome could be had for one year at $6M. Both these numbers fit perfectly into the Astros’ plans moving forward.

Unlike Hendriks, who has only been a closer for just over a year and a half, Colome has been locking down games since 2016. He led all of baseball in 2017 with 47 saves for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Coming off a year where he had an ERA of 0.81 and a WHIP of 0.94, Colome is prime picking. If the Houston Astros want to avoid another Luke Gregerson/Ken Giles debacle, 2016 style, they’d be wise to sign Colome and use Pressly as the setup guy.

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