One reliever down, and more on deck, including closer David Robertson.
Reportedly lefty reliever Andrew MIller signed with the Yankees for 4 years / $36 million. This is a record contract for a relief pitcher who was not a closer in the previous season. Bob Nightengale tweets that the Astros were in the bidding for Miller until the end. Both Robertson and Miller were strike out monsters last year, but Miller had the advantage that no qualifying offer was attached to him; Robertson's qualifying offer means that he signing team will lose a draft pick (a supplemental first round pick, in the Astros' case).
Brian McTaggert tweets that this means Robertson won't be returning to the Yankees, and that the Astros are still in the running. We don't know the veracity of previous reports that Robertson's camp is simply using the Astros' bid as leverage---or whether that should make us skeptical about the liklihood that Robertson may sign with the Astros.
In a interview published earlier in the day by Taggert at mlb.com, Luhnow said that the Astros will look at both big names and less well known names in an effort to bolster the bullpen:
And there are a lot of options out there -- some high profile, some not-so-high profile -- that we believe will help our bullpen, but we're exploring every possible option to improve our bullpen.
So what's your thought? I'm not sure how I will feel when Robertson makes his decision. If he signs with Houston, I can take comfort that the Astros showed they can sign a big name and will have a very good reliever locked down for several years. If the Astros lose out in the bidding, I probably will be relieved that the Astros didn't give up their supplemental draft pick and didn't overpay for a relief pitcher (which they likely would have to do if they sign Robertson).