Fernando Rodney joins pitching-starved Astros for his 12th MLB team

The 43-year-old Fernando Rodney is back in the MLB, this time with the Astros.

The youth movement in the Houston Astros bullpen is about to get a lot older and, they hope, wiser.

Fernando Rodney, an 18-year MLB veteran, is signing with the Astros after having his contract purchased on Tuesday from the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, according to Adam Spolane of SportsRadio 610 in Houston. The Astros will be Rodney’s 12th different club, behind only Edwin Jackson (14) and Octavio Dotel (13) on the all-time list, and fourth in the AL West.

Rodney last appeared for the Washington Nationals in the World Series last season, giving up two earned runs in two innings and winning his first ring in his 17th season. At 43, he would be the oldest pitcher in the Majors by three years; Rich Hill of the Twins is 40. Albert Pujols and Nelson Cruz are the only other players to appear in a game this season after turning 40.

Rodney has been around for so long that he’s faced 10 current members of the Hall of Fame in his career. He leads all active pitchers with 951 career appearances and is second to Craig Kimbrel with 327 saves. His best years came from 2009-17 when he appeared in the fourth-most games and was behind only Kimbrel with 267 saves in that span. In 2012, he had a 0.60 ERA as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, the lowest in MLB history among pitchers with at least 70 innings, and he finished in the top-five in Cy Young Award voting. Those years are well behind him, but as recently as 2018 he had a 3.36 ERA and nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings with the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins.

There is one quality that Rodney possesses that the Astros are counting on: experience. It’s one the Astros are sorely lacking a week into the 2020 season. Seven rookies have already thrown a pitch for the Astros this season. They average 24 years of age, nearly 20 years younger than Rodney. The youngest, Bryan Abreu, was just five years old when Rodney made his MLB debut in 2002.

But those rookies — Abreu, Blake Taylor, Cy Sneed, Enoli Paredes, Brandon Bielak, Brandon Bailey and Cristian Javier — have more than held their own so far this year. They have a combined 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings and have accounted for more than a third of the Astros’ innings.

The Astros’ pitching depth will be sorely tested over the next few weeks as Justin Verlander rests his strained forearm. Josh James, who was used almost exclusively out of the bullpen last season, is currently their third starter behind Lance McCullers Jr. and Zack Greinke. Framber Valdez, with just 13 career starts over the last two years, will take the mound on Tuesday as the Astros open a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers; the fifth spot in the rotation is still to be determined.

In their game on Monday night against Seattle, the Astros were forced to rely on their young arms after James lasted only three innings. Bielak, making his MLB debut after being called up to take Verlander’s spot on the roster, helped out with 3.1 innings of one-run ball. Paredes and Sneed followed him, leading to closer Roberto Osuna getting the save in the ninth.

The rookies have held up so far, and Rodney is another insurance plan. He’s filled every role out of the bullpen in his career, from All-Star closer to dominant setup man. The Astros went looking for a veteran who could do a little bit of everything, and they found their man.