Astros sign SP Clay Hensley to a minor league deal

The deal is reportedly valued at $550,000.

Here's a link to Hensley's career stats, he sports a career ERA of 4.04 and an ERA+ of 98.

The parade of unexciting signings marches on...

about 3 years ago Stephen Higdon 7 comments 0 recs |

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I like this signing.

Obviously it’s a gamble, since it is a minor league deal. But the guy could be very helpful as a starting pitcher if he can stay healthy. He had a decent FIP (4.47) last season, despite a bad 5+ ERA. Bill James projects a 4.31 FIP in 09, and Marcel comes in at 4.19. Despite some DL time and the bad ERA, he had the highest K/9 of his career last year. He is 29 years old. What’s not to like about this signing?

by clack on Dec 23, 2008 3:37 PM CST reply actions

Not bad, just unexciting.

He looks Backe-esque, honestly. Nothing wrong with that, you just can’t expect much.

The Yankees get Texeira, Burnett, and Sabathia. We get Mike Hampton. Whatever.

by Only_A_Lad on Dec 23, 2008 3:45 PM CST up reply actions

I like it too

Compare the FIPs that clack listed with these from Backe and Randy Wolf:

2008 FIP
Hensley: 4.47
Wolf: 4.17
Backe: 5.87

Bill James Projected FIP
Hensley: 4.28
Randy Wolf: 4.38
Backe: 5.41

Also note that in his four seasons in the majors, Hensley’s worst FIP (5.32 – 2007) is still better than what Bill James is projecting for Backe next year, and exactly what Marcels is projecting.

Looking at his Games Started and Innings Pitched, he appears to be Sampson-esque in that he has worked out of both the rotation and the bullpen. When Spring Training rolls around, I imagine he will be in competition for the fifth spot in the rotation, and in the meantime, is insurance against something like Geoff Geary blowing out his elbow. And since it’s a minor league deal, even if he doesn’t have a strong Spring Training, he still adds depth to our pitching staff, which we need.

by AstroAndy on Dec 23, 2008 4:21 PM CST up reply actions

Also not that Hensley is a groundball pitcher.

That is another similarity to Sampson. He appears to be a good replacement for Cassel, but with more upside. Yeah, I hear all of y’all that this isn’t a substitute for signing a real major league starter. But in the realm of $700 K signings, it looks good.

by clack on Dec 23, 2008 6:56 PM CST up reply actions

I think it's a smart signing, no doubt about it

Just that the gamble signings in December are about as unexciting as it gets. Especially after the Yankees bumped there off-season spending total too $430+ million to date today.

I like Wade’s aggressiveness to find some value in these guys, I just wish we had a hedge for them in a legitimate starting pitcher.

Come on Clay!!

The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

by Stephen Higdon on Dec 23, 2008 4:25 PM CST up reply actions

The rich get richer

and we get the bottom of the barrel.

At least they’re low-risk, low-cost signings for a maybe decent reward. They’d look better if we had offered arb to Wiggy though.

by jonthefon on Dec 23, 2008 7:33 PM CST reply actions

He is also a local kid!!! Got to love those Texas Roots!!!

by wadero on Dec 23, 2008 8:00 PM CST reply actions

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