Houston Chronicle

Bullpen push continues with addition of Baez

- By Chandler Rome chandler.rome@chron.com twitter.com/chandler_rome

The Astros continued to augment their bullpen Wednesday, agreeing to a twoyear contract with freeagent reliever Pedro Baez, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

According to multiple reports, the deal, which is pending a physical, will pay Báez $4.5 million in 2021 and contains a $7.5 million club option for 2023.

A 32-year-old Dominican righthande­r, Baez has played his profession­al career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The club signed him as a third baseman in 2007 and made him a pitcher following the 2012 season.

Across seven major league seasons, Baez amassed a 3.03 earned-run average and cemented a spot in a deep Dodgers bullpen. His durability and consistenc­y are pluses. The Dodgers’ reluctance to trust him in leverage spots raises some concern.

Baez finished each of his five full seasons in Los Angeles with a sub-3.30 ERA. He appeared in at least 55 games in every season from 2016 to 2019. His career regular-season WHIP is 1.096.

Given Kenley Jansen’s presence, the Dodgers did not need Baez to close and often used him as a bridge to the back end of their games, sometimes using him in the sixth or seventh inning.

Baez may find a similar role in an Astros bullpen that might not yet be complete. Though the team returns closer Ryan Pressly and veteran sidearmer Joe Smith, it has been linked to most of the elite relievers available in a crowded freeagent market. The best among them, Liam Hendriks, got a three-year deal and $54 million in guaranteed money from the Chicago White Sox this week.

General manager James Click and manager Dusty Baker intimated last month that bullpen help was Houston’s foremost priority. Last week, Click signed hardthrowi­ng righthande­r Ryne Stanek to a one-year deal with hopes he can win a leverage role. Veteran closers Alex Colome, Brad Hand and Kirby Yates remain unsigned. The Astros have been linked, in some way, to all of them.

For now, the club appears focused on layering its bullpen with more veteran depth, something akin to the “stable” of bullpen arms Tampa Bay accrued during Click’s time there. Baez, a veteran of 31 postseason games and 356 major league innings, fits the descriptio­n.

Baez operates with three pitches. His four-seam fastball, which averaged 94.4 mph last season, complement­ed a changeup and slider he throws strictly to righthande­d hitters. Righties have a career .661 OPS against him. Lefthanded hitters have slashed .181/.264/ .320 in 566 career plate appearance­s.

Baez owns a 3.99 ERA in 291⁄3 career postseason innings. He yielded two home runs in 31⁄3 innings during the 2020 World Series against the Rays but procured two outs during the

Dodgers’ championsh­ipclinchin­g win in Game 6.

Baez’s wait for a World Series title felt interminab­le. He pitched in a postseason game during six of his seven seasons with L.A. — including 42⁄3 innings during the 2018 World Series loss to the Red Sox. He appeared on at least one postseason roster during all seven seasons.

Though he was a member of the 2017 Dodgers, Baez did not appear during the club’s postseason run. It ended with a loss to the Astros in the World Series — a title now tainted by revelation­s of Houston’s electronic sign-stealing inside Minute Maid Park. Dodgers players excoriated the Astros during the scandal’s fallout. No criticism from Baez has been written on record.

 ?? Jae Hong / Associated Press ?? Reliever Pedro Baez has a 3.03 earned-run average in seven major league seasons.
Jae Hong / Associated Press Reliever Pedro Baez has a 3.03 earned-run average in seven major league seasons.

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