Chia-Jen

Lo

Lo is now protected from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The 26-year-old native of Taiwan had a 1.42 ERA and 20/4 K/BB ratio over 19 innings this year in High-A ball.

Lo posted a cool 2.08 ERA over 8 2/3 innings this spring in the Grapefruit League. He’ll be up at some point.

Bad timing for his worst appearance in the bigs, as Lo appeared to be close to dismissing Josh Fields from Houston’s two-man closing committee (Fields earned the hold in pitching a scoreless eighth inning). Lo didn’t surrender a run over his first seven appearances, but he’s walked five and allowed three runs over his last three outings (two losses and a blown save). Over 10 1/3 innings at the major league level, Lo has a 2.61 ERA and 1.55 WHIP.

It was the first series win at Minute Maid Park for the Astros in more than two months. Lo is serving in a two-man committee at closer with Josh Fields and is worth rostering in some deeper mixed fantasy leagues.

After replacing Josh Fields with the tying run at second base and one out in the ninth inning, Lo threw a wild pitch and walked a batter before giving up a single to Brian Dozier. The rookie right-hander was able to retire the next two batters to keep the score tied, but the damage was already done. Jose Cisnero, who many pegged as the favorite for saves with Jose Veras in Detroit, allowed a run on three hits in the eighth inning and has really struggled over the past few weeks. It looks like this will be a messy situation for fantasy owners the rest of the way.

“I’ll fluctuate between (Lo and Fields) based on the workload previously leading up to that game,” Astros manager Bo Porter said. Closer-by-committee is the worst thing fantasy owners can hear, especially on a team that wins as infrequently as the Astros. Lo has made seven scoreless appearances since being recalled and would be the one to own, but neither has much fantasy value in a timeshare.

The Astros’ closer-by-committee is drama at its worst, a soap opera with non-existent ratings. Fields is a member of it, but would you believe that this is his first save since August 14? Chia-Jen Lo seemed to be the pilot of this airplane filled with lost souls, but he dropped to 0-3 when the Twins flogged him for four runs on Monday. Skipper Bo Porter hasn’t called on Lo and his 5.25 ERA since. Mixed leaguers waste a roster spot on a Houston reliever at their own peril.

Lo is now off the 40-man roster. The 28-year-old earned a couple saves for the Astros last season but failed to earn a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.

Lo, who made 19 appearances with the Astros last season, had a 4.74 ERA and 17/12 K/BB ratio over 19 innings this season in Triple-A. The 28-year-old will attempt to latch on elsewhere.

The deal, which was reported by TaiwanBaseball.blogspot.com a couple of weeks ago and confirmed by the Astros today, is believed to contain a bonus of about $250,000. The Astros outbid the Red Sox and Royals for the 22-year-old’s services. Lo is likely to be limited to the pen, but he could move quickly and maybe even debut in the second half of next year. A future as a setup man is possible.