The Houston Astros, based in Houston, Texas, participate in Major League Baseball (MLB) and are a member of the National League Central Division. The Astros were founded as the Houston Colt .45's in 1962.
HOUSTON — Jimmy Wynn, who spent the first 11 years of his 15-year career with the Houston franchise from 1963-73, will be the featured guest on "J.D. and Dave's Excellent Offseason Adventure, presented by Grand Slam for Youth Baseball," on Wednesday. Hosted by Astros announcers Dave Raymond and Jim Deshaies, the show airs every Wednesday [...]
HOUSTON — The Astros signed right-hander Brandon Backe to a one-year deal worth $1.55 million plus performance bonuses, general manager Ed Wade confirmed on Tuesday. The Astros also signed lefty reliever Tim Byrdak to a one-year deal worth $1 million. Backe, who struggled down the stretch in 2008, his first full season after undergoing Tommy [...]
HOUSTON — Roy Oswalt committed to pitch for Team USA more than a month ago, and he's projected to serve as the team's ace for as long as his club lasts in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. On Monday, Major League Baseball revealed the provisional 45-man rosters for all 16 teams participating in this year's [...]
HOUSTON — The Astros avoided arbitration with catcher Humberto Quintero, signing him to a one-year deal worth $610,000 on Monday. Quintero is expected to be the front-runner for the starting job when Spring Training competition begins in February. Quintero is one of four catchers who have the best chance to win one of two spots [...]
HOUSTON — Astros reliever LaTroy Hawkins and his wife, Anita, watched the outcome of election night in November and casually discussed making the trip to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. Although Anita had a chance to score tickets through a well-connected friend, they still figured odds might be slim they could [...]
HOUSTON — Lance Berkman, the closing act at the annual baseball awards banquet Thursday night, began his speech by giving a recount of his wife's first meeting with one of the evening's honorees. Cara Berkman had accompanied her husband on an Astros road trip last year, and after meeting up with him after a game [...]
HOUSTON — The Astros' five remaining arbitration-eligible players formally filed on Thursday, the first step toward determining salaries for 2009. The players are Brandon Backe, Tim Byrdak, Geoff Geary, Humberto Quintero and Wandy Rodriguez. Jose Valverde recently signed a one-year deal worth $8 million, thus avoiding the arbitration process. The next step is the exchange [...]
HOUSTON — The free-agent market is flush with dozens of quality free agents, but don't expect the Astros to jump in on any bargain-bidding wars in the days leading up to Spring Training. General manager Ed Wade hasn't completely ruled out nabbing a player if presented with a deal that is too good to pass [...]
HOUSTON — The Astros announced Wednesday they invited six more players to Major League Spring Training, bringing their non-roster total to 18. Four of the six in this latest batch are pitchers: right-handers Jose Capellan, Danny Graves and Chad Paronto, along with one of the club's top pitching prospects, right-hander Sergio Perez. Two are catchers: [...]
HOUSTON — The Astros added another candidate to their starting-rotation pool when they signed veteran right-hander Russ Ortiz to a Minor League contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training on Tuesday. Ortiz, 34, last pitched in 2007 for the Giants. He missed all of '08 while recovering from surgery to repair a torn [...]