The Astros have signed 30-year old righty starting pitcher Shane Loux to a minor league deal. Loux pitched in 18 games (6 starts) for the Angels last season and he was 2-3 with a 5.86 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. He has now pitched in 39 games (13 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-7 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Loux has thrown a lot of batting practice in the majors allowing 156 hits in only 118 2/3 innings pitched. It’s doubtful that Loux will help the Astros in 2010 as he’s just not that good of a pitcher.

Righty flame throwing righty starting pitcher J.R. Richard’s career was cut way too short but there was nothing he could do about it. On July 30th, 1980 while playing catch before a game Richard suffered a stroke and collapsed on the field. He was taken to the hospital and he underwent left-threatening surgery to remove a blood clot in his neck. He never pitched in the majors again which is a shame because he was just starting to hit his stride. In his last season in the majors (1980), Richard pitched in 17 games (all starts) for the Astros and he was 10-4 with a 1.90 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He only allowed 65 hits in 113 2/3 innings that season while whiffing 119 batters showing just how nasty his stuff was. That wasn’t the only year he pitched outstanding though. In his last five years of his career, Richard pitched in 166 games (all starts) in which he was 84-55 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Richard’s major league career ended at the age of 30. He finished his career having pitched in 238 games (221 starts) in which he was 107-71 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

The Astros are almost set for the 2010 season but they have a black hole behind the plate right now that needs to be addressed before the year starts. If the season started next week the line-up would look like this:

C-J.R. Towles
1B-Lance Berkman
2B-Kaz Matsui
SS-Tommy Manzella
3B-Pedro Feliz
LF-Carlos Lee
CF-Michael Bourn
RF-Hunter Pence

The Astros should look into signing Rod Barajas or Yorvit Torrealba to start behind the plate. If they don’t want either of those guys Dioner Navarro of the Rays is likely available in the trade market. J.R. Towles simply can’t be trusted as he has failed quite a bit for the Astros in the past. Other than that I like the line-up the Astros have put together for 2010.

The Astros have signed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Brett Myers to a 1-year deal worth $3.1 million bucks with a mutual option for 2011 worth $8 million bucks with a $2 million dollar buyout. Myers pitched in 18 games (10 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 4-3 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has now pitched in 240 games (183 starts) in his major league career and he is 73-63 with 21 saves, a 4.40 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Astros will probably slot Myers #3 in the rotation behind Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez. If Myers can stay healthy all year long I like this signing for the Astros.

The Astros have signed 27-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Banks to a minor league deal. Banks pitched in 6 games (3 starts) last season for the Astros and he was 1-1 with a 7.15 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has now pitched in 26 games (18 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-7 with a 5.38 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Astros will give him a shot to compete for a spot in the starting rotation which really says something about the back end of it…..and it’s not good.