Astros admit failure with offseason gamble after surprise DFA

The Houston Astros were determined to add pitching depth during the offseason, including taking a gamble on Ryan Weiss. After spending two years in KBO, there was some thought that Weiss could help the Astros fill the void that was left by Framber Valdez's departure. Instead, Weiss proved to be one of the first mistakes Dana Brown made last offseason.

Awkwardness surrounded Weiss' tenure in Houston. Throughout spring training, he made it clear that he wanted to be a starting pitcher. Yet, once the season started, the Astros ticketed him for the bullpen. From there, it was all downhill for the veteran righty. He posted an ERA of 7.62 through 26 innings pitched, and was demoted to Triple-A Sugar Land at the start of May. By that point, it became clear that Weiss would be odd man out once a spot was needed on the team's 40-man roster.

Recently acquired Raynel Delgado is expected to be officially added to the Astros' roster this weekend, and will likely take Weiss' spot on the 40-man roster.

Once Weiss was ticketed for the bullpen at the start of the season, it felt inevitable that the Astros would reach the point where the experiment should end. That moment has arrived as the Astros have designated the 29-year-old for assignment before their series against the Kansas City Royals this weekend.

Ryan Weiss' early farewell signals Astros' pitching getting healthy

With the Astros' pitching staff starting to get healthy, it certainly left Weiss on the outside looking in. Josh Hader has already made his return, and starting pitchers Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier aren't far behind. Not to mention, Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski have resumed their throwing programs after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season.

Dana Brown's efforts to bolster the pitching staff during the offseason certainly aren't aging in the best of lights. Mike Burrows has struggled with a 5.77 ERA through his first 13 starts and Tatsuya Imai has had mixed results. At least, for Imai, he has looked better since his return from the IL. Of course, both Burrows and Imai came with larger investments than the $2.6 million the Astros were paying Weiss this season.

At the end of the day, this always a possibility when taking a flier on a pitcher like Weiss. There's no guarantee that he will find success, but the silver lining is that it's relatively easy to end the experiment as the Astros just did.

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