don't get your hopes up - you read that right - "Astros Sign Cassel," not the "Rockets Sign Cassell" http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5385243.html Dec. 17, 2007, 4:32PM Astros sign free agent RHP Cassell to 1-year deal Chronicle News Services The Astros signed right-handed pitcher Jack Cassel to a one-year contract with a Major League value of $400,000. Cassel, 27, was 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances for San Diego in 2007 — his first season in the Majors. He went 7-14 with a 3.91 ERA and three complete games for the Padres' Triple-A affiliate Portland. Cassel was not tendered a contract by San Diego by the Dec. 12 deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent. “Our scouts have liked Jack over the past couple of years,” Astros general manager Ed Wade said. “He pounds the strike zone with his sinker and competes well. The Padres gave him a Major League opportunity in 2007, and he did pretty well. We’ll throw him into our starting pitching mix in Spring Training and allow him to compete.” The addition of Cassel gets the Astros' 40-man roster to 34 players.
He is Matt Cassel's older brother. Maybe he can help team chemistry by getting everyone Super Bowl tickets? The best thing about him is he isn't very home run prone. He was a AAA all-star in the PCL last year. Most seem to project him as a long reliever. Here's an interesting link on him from about a year ago. http://padres.scout.com/2/608631.html
Seems like a Chris Sampson-type pitcher. Doesn't give up many hr's (.4 hr/9 IP in the majors & .5 in the minors), but doesn't strike out a lot either (4.37 K/9 in the majors, 6.39 in the minors). Looks like a good candidate for the rotation. At the least, he provides some competition for the back end so that Wandy, Sampson, Woody, and Backe don't get too comfortable.
Nice find. This is why I don't sweat the 5-for-1 and 3-for-1 deals very much... if you're aggressive and have decent talent evaluators, you can find young cheap talent like this to replace middle-of-the-pack arms like Albers and Gutierrez. It's not that difficult to replenish depth if the depth wasn't all that good to begin with.
Bingo, Cat. Probably equally interesting was the update to the link: It looks like we're going to be aggressive going after pitching options.
