Veteran right-hander Francisco Cordero was unable to land a ninth-inning gig this past offseason and instead settled for a setup job and a one-year, $4.5 million free agent contract with the Blue Jays.
But he was traded to the Astros as part of Friday morning’s two-team, 10-player swap and has now stumbled back into his more familiar role.
From Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle comes word that Cordero has been named the Astros’ new closer, filling the spot left vacant by Saturday’s Brett Myers trade. It’s another crafty move by ‘Stros GM Jeff Luhnow, who may be able to get a bit of young talent out of the 37-year-old Cordero if he proves capable of retiring batters between now and the August 31 waiver deadline.
Cordero posted a rough 5.60 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in his 35 1/3 innings with Toronto, but lineups in the National League Central are considerably easier to navigate than those in the American League East.