MLB: Houston Astros Sign Colby Rasmus to $8,000,000 1-year Deal

By Cheri Cheng - 21 Jan '15 16:17PM

The Houston Astros have continued to reshape their roster, signing free agent Colby Rasmus to a one-year deal, which would be finalized once the outfielder passes his physical. The deal is reportedly worth $8 million.

"We have a couple of months to figure out where everybody stands out in the field, but we know Colby will be in the lineup and be hitting," general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "A.J. and the staff, we've given them a lot of options. Basically at every position, if you look at the depth chart, there's a lot of different alternatives and ways you can map it out, and basically that's what Spring Training is going to be used for, is to figure out who goes where. We have added quite a bit of firepower to our lineup and we think that's going do us well in our division."

With the Toronto Blue Jays, Rasmus hit .225/.287/.448 with 21 doubles, 18 homeruns and 40 RBI in 104 games. The 28-year-old is a career .246/.313/.438 hitter with 672 hits, 142 doubles, 116 homeruns and 352 RBI. When healthy, Rasmus has displayed power and strength. However, he is also known for striking out quite frequently.

The outfielder has mostly played in center throughout his six-year major league career. He has played in both right and left field as well.

Rasmus will join newly acquired Luis Valbuena, who the Astros got from the Chicago Cubs in the Dexter Fowler trade. Valbuena, 29, hit .249/.341/.435 with 33 doubles and 16 homers. Rasmus and Valbuena, who are left-handed hitters, will shake up the Astros' line up, which was previously stacked with right-handed hitters.

"We knew that moving Fowler would free up some resources and a spot for Colby, and it was all part of the same sort of thinking about how we were going to approach the rest of the offseason going into Spring Training," Luhnow said according to MLB.com.

Luhnow, who drafted Rasmus in 2005, added, "I think he's going to benefit from being in our ballpark and on this team. It's a good opportunity for us to bring him in and let him add to what's a better and better offensive team with every move we make."

The team designated catcher Carlos Corporan for assignment to make room on the roster. They will reportedly try to trade Corporan.