Hoping to take advantage of a talented player who has struggled with consistency throughout his career, the Houston Astros reportedly have an agreement with free agent Colby Rasmus.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Rasmus' deal with the Astros will be for one year after he takes a physical:
The MLB Roster Moves Twitter account would later confirm the signing.
Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported that Rasmus' deal with the Astros will be for $8 million, after previously reporting it would be worth $4 million:
Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston spoke to Rasmus about why the Astros appealed to him:
Rasmus, who is just 28 years old, used to be one of baseball's top prospects coming up through St. Louis' system. He had a breakout season in 2010 with 23 home runs and a .276/.361/.498 slash line, but a rift with former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa led to him being traded to Toronto in 2011.
Injuries and inconsistencies prevented Rasmus from ever getting back to that 2010 level, though he did slug over .500 in 2013. He only appeared in 104 games with the Blue Jays last season, hitting .225/.287/.448 with 18 home runs.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick also speculates that the Astros could keep Rasmus out of center field, which would put less wear and tear on his legs as the year goes on:
It's no surprise to see the Astros take a chance on Rasmus. In addition to needing more of a spark in the outfield, unless the team really thinks Evan Gattis can play in left field, general manager Jeff Luhnow knows Rasmus well from their days in St. Louis.
Rasmus does have his share of issues, but the Astros are taking a solid risk in this case. He's going to be motivated to perform after what happened last season and is young enough to expect there to be some upside in his bat.
The Astros aren't paying Rasmus much, so if it doesn't work out they can keep him on the bench or cut bait without having to take a huge financial hit. They can also explore flipping him in July if he's performing well and the team is out of contention. This is a win-win deal for Houston.
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