After signing Luke Gregerson in the morning, the Astros have reportedly reached an agreement with free agent reliever Pat Neshek as well. The deal is apparently a two-year pact, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the deal is for $12.5 million.
neshek has a deal with astos. good pickups for houston.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 10, 2014
Reliever Pat Neshek, pursued by #Pirates, signs with #Astros for two years, $12.5 million, pending physical. Gets to stay in FLA for spring.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) December 10, 2014
The #Astrosreshape bullpen; Luke Gregerson to 18.5 million deal, close to finalizing 2,year deal with Pat Neshek. http://t.co/jmQb6MJoEB
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 10, 2014
Pat Neshek contract w/ #astros: $5.5M in 2015, $6.5M in 2015. $500K buyout. There's a 3rd yr. club option for $6.5M to $9M.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 10, 2014
Neshek is set to make $5.5 million in 2015 and $6.5 million in 2016 with a $500,000 buyout on his third-year option for anywhere between $6.5 and $9 million. The Astros reportedly upped their price early Wednesday morning after coming in below the Pittsburgh Pirates' offer.
Neshek, 34, spent last season with the Cardinals, throwing 67 innings with a 1.87 ERA and 68 strikeouts with nine walks. Neshek has spent eight seasons in the majors with four teams.
The sidearm right-hander began his career with the Twins before moving on to the Padres, Athletics and Cardinals.
As Brian McTaggart pointed out on Twitter, Houston's basically getting the band back together again from the 2011 Padres bullpen.
Padres 2011 bullpen: Qualls, Neshek, Gregerson. Heath Bell was closer.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) December 10, 2014
We also have a bit of clarification on Gregerson's contract. While it was initially reported as being worth $18.5 million over three years, Jerry Crasnick reports it could go higher.
Luke Gregorson's deal with #astros can reach $21M over 3 years if he's the team's closer.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 10, 2014