Astros: Free agent Hector Rondon off to the Arizona Diamondbacks

After a couple of seasons as a workhorse out of the Astros bullpen, Hector Rondon is moving west to Arizona to pitch for the Diamondbacks.

Hector Rondon and the Diamondbacks have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal worth $3 million. He’ll be taking a $1.5 million pay cut after making $4.5 million last season with the Houston Astros. There is an option for 2021 that ranges from $4 million to $5 million, depending on the number of innings worked.

The 31-year-old was one of the most called upon out of the pen in his two seasons here in Houston. He led the team in 2018 with 63 appearances and pitched in 62 games in 2019, surpassed only by Roberto Osuna and Will Harris.

His performance level did drop last year from his initial season with Houston, which apparently resulted in the drop in salary. Rondon’s ERA went from 3.20 in 2018 to 3.71 in 2019. His SO/9IP was lowest in his career at 7.1, a significant drop from the 10.2 he posted in 2018.

Hector Rondon had kind of a mixed bag of a season. He had one start in the season that was horrid and skewed some of his overall season stats. As a middle reliever, he had a pretty decent season, but when called in from the bullpen in a few clutch situations, he didn’t do so well.

That one disastrous start swelled Rondon’s ERA from 3.34 to 4.79 in one game, nearly 1.5 runs. At the season’s end, his ERA stood at 3.71, but when you take away that start, his ERA as a reliever was a respectable 2.85.

Rondon entered the game in save opportunities three times in 2019 and blew all three saves. But his main role out of the bullpen was as a middle reliever and when pitching in those situations, for the most part, Rondon did his job. We wish Rondon the best of luck in his future endeavors in Arizona