The Astros have re-signed 36-year old switch hitting 3B Geoff Blum to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal with a mutual option for the 2011 season worth $1.65 million bucks. Blum played in 120 games last season for the Astros and he was 94 for 381 (.247 avg, .681 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers and 49 RBIs. Blum has now played in 1,256 games in his major league career and he is 921 for 3,687 (.250 avg, .697 OPS) with 415 runs scored, 95 homers, 446 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Hopefully the Astros signed Blum to serve as a utility man instead of a quasi-starter at 3B again as he doesn’t have the bat for the position.

36-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Coste has elected to become a free agent after refusing an outright assignment to AAA. Coste played in 43 games for the Astros last season and he was 21 for 103 (.204 avg, .511 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 10 RBIs. Coste should have no problem finding a new bench job for 2010 but the Astros won’t miss him too much. Coste has now played in 299 games in his major league career and he is 219 for 806 (.272 avg, .745 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 23 homers and 108 RBIs.

The Houston Astros have signed Brad Mills to manage the ballclub starting right now. The Astros liked the fact that Mills has been coaching with the Boston Red Sox since 2004 so he will be bringing a winning attitude to town. Mills has over a decade of managing in the minors so he should be able to handle the job from a tactical prospective. Mills only got the job after Manny Acta rejected the Astros to sign with the Cleveland Indians.

The Astros have claimed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Bourgeios off waivers from the Brewers. He played in 24 games for the Brewers last season and he was 7 for 37 (.189 avg, .520 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. In parts of two seasons in the majors, Bourgeios has played in 30 games in which he is 8 for 40 (.200 avg, .556 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The reason the Astros likely picked uo Bourgeios is for what he did in AAA last season. He played in 105 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 134 for 424 (.316 avg, .755 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 2 homers, 41 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. This was a good pick up for the Astros as Bourgeios will compete for a back up job in the outfield next spring.

UPDATE: The Astros have designated Bourgeios for assignment to make room on the roster for Brett Myers.

UPDATE II: Bourgeios has accepted a outright assignment to the minors to stay on with the Astros and it was a smart move for him.

The Astros will have to do some major tinkering with the roster over the winter. They have 10 pending free agents going into the off-season. Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins all likely played and pitched so well that they priced themselves out of Houston. The rest of the free agents (Geoff Blum, Aaron Boone, Jason Michaels, Darin Erstad, Doug Brocail, Brandon Backe and Mike Hampton) will all likely be looking for new jobs over the winter. The Houston Astros really need to improve at catcher and they will likely consider signing Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Bengie Molina, Miguel Olivo, Ivan Rodriguez, Ramon Hernandez (if the Reds buy him out), Brian Schneider, Yorvit Torrealba or Jason Varitek (if he opts out of his contract with Boston) to start. The Astros also will have a glaring hole at shortstop if Miguel Tejada leaves over the winter. Orlando Cabrera, Marco Scutaro, Adam Everett, Alex Gonzalez (if Boston lets him go) and Jack Wilson (if Seattle lets him go) would be considered for the starting shortstop job in 2010 for the Astros. The last thing on offense the Astros would need is a back up outfielder or two. Reed Johnson, Gabe Kapler, Rick Ankiel, Rocco Baldelli, Endy Chavez, Mark Kotsay, Brian Giles and Austin Kearns would all warrant consideration from the Astros. The pitching staff will also likely need rebuilt. The Astros will likely scour the bargain bin for a starting pitcher looking at Miguel Batista, Bartolo Colon, Jose Contreras, Justin Duchscherer, Josh Fogg, Livan Hernandez, Brett Myers, Brad Penny and Jarrod Washburn. If Jose Valverde seeks greener pastures the Astros will need a new closer and they will be looking for a bargain with Billy Wagner, Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano, Takashi Saito, J.J. Putz and Brandon Lyon being the top targets. The Astros also need help from both the right and left side in the bullpen and they will be looking for a lot of cheap arms. David Weathers, Danys Baez, Joaquin Benoit, Luis Ayala, Kiko Calero, Brendan Donnelly, Kelvim Escobar, Matt Herges, Guillermo Mota, Chan Ho Park, Russ Springer, Rudy Seanez and Justin Speier will all get looks from the Astros. From the left side the Astros will be looking at guys like Joe Beimel, Scott Eyre, Ron Mahay, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse, Jamie Walker, Billy Traber, Wil Ledezma and Ken Takahashi. It will be hard for the Astros to fill all of the holes on the roster just through free agency so they will likely be heavily involved in the trade market.