4 former Astros Players We're Glad Are No Longer With the Club

No. 2: RHP Pedro Báez

In what can easily be described as the worst contract James Click ever brought to the Astros during his time here, Pedro Báez' two-year, $12.5M deal just stunk up the joint from the get-go.

The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers reliever had experienced significant success as an oft-used middle relief weapon for the Dodgers for the first seven years of his big league career. As a matter of fact, an argument could be made that Báez was one of the best non-closer relievers in the league for a few years.

Shortly after Báez signed his deal with the Astros, he missed time in Spring Training thanks to a positive COVID test and then in the first month of the regular season was placed on the 60-day injured list with shoulder soreness.

He performed well in the extremely limited action he had in 2021 (2.08 ERA in four games and 4.1 innings), but this is not what the Astros signed up for when they signed him to multi-year pact.

Last year, he made three regular season appearances for the team before they had seen enough. He was designated for assignment on April 26th, exactly one year after he was placed on the 60-day injured list the year before.

Báez was no doubt a good intention signing by the Astros. He had been so good for so long for one of the game's best teams, how could this possibly change by coming to Houston? Injuries shoved him out the door before his contract could even expire and he is now a free agent with seemingly no real suitors for his services.