The Houston Astros have agreed to sign right-handed relief pitcher Luke Gregerson, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale. They also signed fellow right-handed reliever Pat Neshek, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported.
It's a three-year, $18.5 million deal for Gregerson, Nightengale reports and a two-year, $12.5 million guarantee for Neshek. Gregerson is the third-most expensive relief pitcher to come off the market this offseason, after David Robertson and Andrew Miller.
The 30-year-old Gregerson is one of the best back end relief pitchers in baseball. He went 5-5 with a 2.12 ERA and a 176 ERA+ in 2014, pitching 72.1 innings and posting a 3.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He posted a 1.01 WHIP and a 3.24 FIP, suggesting that his ERA may have been a bit better than it actually was. Gregerson was worth 0.9 fWAR this season with Oakland.
The 34-year-old Neshek went 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA and a 2.37 FIP in 2014, pitching 67.1 innings out of the Cardinals bullpen. He struck out 68 hitters this past year, while walking just nine. Neshek's 1.8 fWAR is the highest mark of his entire career.
On the season, the Astros relief corps posted the highest ERA in the big leagues, to go along with the second-worst fWAR, just in front of the New York Mets. The signing of Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek make up for the misses on Andrew Miller and David Robertson, both of who they were said to have shown heavy interest. The bullpen was an obvious need of them and they filled it well today.
--Devan Fink
It's a three-year, $18.5 million deal for Gregerson, Nightengale reports and a two-year, $12.5 million guarantee for Neshek. Gregerson is the third-most expensive relief pitcher to come off the market this offseason, after David Robertson and Andrew Miller.
The 30-year-old Gregerson is one of the best back end relief pitchers in baseball. He went 5-5 with a 2.12 ERA and a 176 ERA+ in 2014, pitching 72.1 innings and posting a 3.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He posted a 1.01 WHIP and a 3.24 FIP, suggesting that his ERA may have been a bit better than it actually was. Gregerson was worth 0.9 fWAR this season with Oakland.
The 34-year-old Neshek went 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA and a 2.37 FIP in 2014, pitching 67.1 innings out of the Cardinals bullpen. He struck out 68 hitters this past year, while walking just nine. Neshek's 1.8 fWAR is the highest mark of his entire career.
On the season, the Astros relief corps posted the highest ERA in the big leagues, to go along with the second-worst fWAR, just in front of the New York Mets. The signing of Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek make up for the misses on Andrew Miller and David Robertson, both of who they were said to have shown heavy interest. The bullpen was an obvious need of them and they filled it well today.
--Devan Fink
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