Houston Astros Sign Scott Feldman and Chad Qualls to Bolster Pitching Staff

Right before the start of the Winter Meetings the Houston Astros made their first free agent signing of the offseason.  Last Friday, the Astros signed starting pitcher Scott Feldman to a 3-year, $30 million deal.

Feldman spent the majority of his career with the Texas Rangers before pitching for both the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles last year. Last season, Feldman went a combined 12-12 with a 3.86 ERA in 181 innings pitched.

His best season was in 2009 for the Texas Rangers. That season Feldman went 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA in 189 innings pitched.

Then, on Saturday, the Astros signed free agent reliever Chad Qualls to a two-year contract, with a club option for a third season.  The 35 year-old Qualls started his career with the Astros back in 2004. He was also a member of the Astros World Series team in 2005. Qualls last year pitched for the Miami Marlins after playing for three different teams in 2012.

Last season, as a setup man in Miami, Qualls went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 62 innings pitched over 66 games. Qualls will be expected to anchor the bullpen as either the closer or setup man for the Astros.

The Astros finished the 2013 season with the worst record in Major League Baseball.