Houston Astros Add Pitching
January 14, 2008 by Kori Ellis
Filed under Baseball
Avoiding salary cap arbitration, the Houston Astros and right-handed pitcher Brandon Backe agreed on a one-year contract. Backe, who missed almost a year after an elbow injury, returned to the Astros late last season. In five starts, Backe went 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA. In six big league seasons, Backe has 22 wins – 21 of which were with the Astros.
In other new, the Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Astros and free-agent right-handed pitcher Runelvys Hernandez are close to coming to an agreement on a contract. The 29-year-old Hernandez has played all of his big league games for the Kansas City Royals, where he totaled 25 wins over the course of four seasons.
Both Backe and Hernandez would compete for a spot in Houston’s starting rotation.
