After acquiring Chad Qualls and Matt Albers earlier in the offseason, the Houston Astros continued the makeover of their bullpen on Tuesday, announcing that they have signed free agent reliever Jesse Crain.
“When [Crain] is healthy, he’s as good as it gets out of the bullpen,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “This definitely shores up one of our big weaknesses of the team last year, which was the bullpen. I like our young guys, but I feel adding experienced relievers will help with their development and help them mature and help us win some games.”
Crain was dominant for the Chicago White Sox in the first half of last season, and even made the American League all-star team, before arm issues took him out of the lineup. Though he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the non-waiver trade deadline, he was unable to pitch to the team due to the lingering shoulder strain. Overall, the 32-year-old Crain had a 0.74 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 4.18 K/BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings for the White Sox in 2013. He continued his run as being one of the most consistent late inning relievers in the majors over his 10-year career.
“It’s exciting,” Crain said. “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into with family and friends and all that. We’re real excited to spend time at home. Having three young kids definitely played a huge decision in signing here.”
Crain had offseason surgery, but believes that he could be ready for opening day.
“I think there’s a chance,” he said. “But obviously that would be awesome if I could do that. Like I said, having this [signing] past us and getting a contract, I’m going to work on being healthy and moving on from there. It’s better to take your time up front and make sure you’re healthy instead of trying to rush through it.”
It is possible that Crain could earn a look as the closer for the Astros, and a good season in such role could lead to a big payday next year.
“That’s something I always wanted to do,” he said. “I did it all the way up until I came to the big leagues … Sometimes when you’re good at a role, they don’t want to kind of take you out of it, and that’s where I was with the White Sox, and I never got a chance to do that. If you look at my career, I’ve thrown two or maybe three times in the ninth inning in save situations. It’s something I would love to get an opportunity to try.”
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