Veteran relief pitcher José Veras signed a one year deal with the Houston Astros, according to the Twitter feed of ESPNDeportes writer Enrique Rojas.
The right hander will be 32 next season as he enters his eighth season in the majors. The product of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays farm system made his debut with the 2006 New York Yankees and played in the 2007 Division Series.
The Astros will be the well-traveled Veras’ sixth team in five seasons. Last season he pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers.
A classic situational reliever, Veras averages less than an inning-per-appearance. And he has never finished more than 19 games in a season, amassing only five career saves.
But he has compiled a respectable ERA and ERA+ over the past few seasons and remains reliable, if not spectacular. And while Veras does not compile many innings over the years, he has been durable, as his 79 and 72 appearances in each of the last two seasons demonstrates.
The Astros will be entering the American League West in 2013 with a very young team and an untested pitching staff. Most of the players coming out of the bullpen will be raw and facing late inning pressure on the big league level for the first time.
Most of the bullpen roles will probably be won out of spring training.
But new Astros manager Bo Porter will know that he will have at least one arm that has has endured the pressure of a full big league season in José Veras.
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