UPDATE: The Houston Astros officially announced on Twitter Friday that they have signed former Cardinal reliever Pat Neshek, along with former Oakland Athletic Luke Gregerson, to multi-year contracts. Although financial terms were not released by the team, Neshek’s contract is reportedly worth $12.5 million over two years, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Neshek is coming off a 2014 season that featured his first All-Star appearance, and the veteran right-hander posted a 1.87 ERA over 67 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, primarily in a setup role to closer Trevor Rosenthal. It now appears that Jordan Walden, acquired in the Heyward-Miller trade with the Braves, will likely fill that role in 2015.
It’s official. #Astros sign free agent pitchers Luke Gregerson and @PatNeshek. Welcome to Houston! pic.twitter.com/aZb2qZBJit
— Houston Astros (@astros) December 12, 2014
Earlier Report:
According to multiple reports, including from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Houston Astros have signed former Cardinal reliever Pat Neshek to a two-year, $12.5 million contract with a club option.
Neshek told MLB.com that he was close to signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates before Houston made a late push for him:
“At first, I think they had an offer pretty low and we thought that was done, and they called back later and had a really strong offer. I was probably seconds away from signing with Pittsburgh. I told my agent (Barry Meister), ‘Let’s sign with Pittsburgh, let’s get it done.’ We were on the phone and Houston called. We told them we were going to sign, and they raised the offer.”
The 34-year-old compiled 68 strikeouts with a 1.87 ERA over 67.1 innings in a setup role for the Cardinals, who now likely turn to Jordan Walden, recently acquired in the Jason Heyward-Shelby Miller trade with the Braves, to fill that role.
Read more from theScore and Viva El Birdos.
More to come.
Feature image used under Creative Commons from Johnmaxmena2. No changes made. Creative Commons License.
