Astros take dubious gamble, sign wild veteran reliever to minor-league deal

The Houston Astros have been extremely busy this offseason, to say the least. Kyle Tucker is gone, Alex Bregman is extremely likely to play elsewhere, and both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker have joined the 2025 roster. It is going to be very interesting to see how this new core gels (or doesn't) next season and beyond, as general manager Dana Brown's job may be in the balance.

However, the Astros' job is not done this offseason. They still need to address the outfield, especially now that Tucker is gone, adding a starting pitcher would be wise, and rounding out the roster at the fringes is always going to be in play. On Tuesday, Houston made a move to help deal with the latter.

Every team, especially contending ones, needs bullpen depth. While the Astros are in pretty good shape with the backend of their bullpen, finding middle relievers and long relievers who can be relied upon is a good idea, especially with some notable free agent departures.

To help with that search, the Astros decided to sign Miguel Castro to a minor-league deal, despite some concerning numbers, especially in a brutal 2024.

Astros sign Miguel Castro to a minor-league deal despite a less than sterling career

The good news here is that Houston does have to rely on Castro. He is only on a minor-league deal and, if he struggles at any point, they can cut bait and move on with their lives. Castro also is a bit of an analytics darling, as he throws hard, is good at keeping the ball on the ground, and generally doesn't give up hard contact. If the Astros can shore up his weaknesses, there is real talent to work with.

However, there are some glaring problems to address with Castro. Since 2019, Castro has just a 4.21 ERA and 4.42 FIP with 140 walks in his last 275.2 innings pitched. He simply has to find the strike zone more if he is going to remain in the big leagues. Castro also missed a lot of time with a shoulder issue last season, which is always spooky when it comes to power arms.

The Astros are as good as any team at identifying flaws in pitchers' mechanics, and if they have fixes in mind that can keep Castro on the field and help him command his fastball/slider mix, this could end up being an absolute bargain. That said, Houston would be wise to continue to add more bullpen options the rest of the offseason, as hoping Castro figures things out is, at best, a coin flip.

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