Red Sox Sign Pedro Astacio

[stocker323]

The Red Sox have finally signed Pedro today, Pedro Astacio. He will report to Ft. Myers for a checkup and then to Pawtucket for 3 or 4 outings before being summoned to the big leagues. I heard this on EEI this morning so no link yet.

[elsrbueno]

Saw the report on boston.com. They're saying the same thing. Maybe by mid-July, Pedro (Astacio that is) will be with the club.

 

While this move intreagues me, this isn't enough to get the team over the top!

[tek33rules]

Red Sox sign veteran RHP Astacio to minor league contract

Sources: yahoo sports and espn

 

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=reds...ov=st&type=lgns

 

Originally posted by "Yahoo Sports"

BOSTON (TICKER) -- The Boston Red Sox signed veteran righthander Pedro Astacio to a minor league contract on Wednesday.

 

Astacio has not pitched since undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and labrum last June. He will report to Fort Myers and eventually join Class AAA Pawtucket of the International League.

 

The 34-year-old Astacio was 3-2 with a 7.36 ERA in seven starts with the Mets in 2003 before undergoing surgery. He pitched with the torn labrum in 2002 and clearly labored in the second half of the season. After starting 8-3 with a 3.17 ERA, Astacio finished 12-11 with a 4.79 ERA.

 

 

A 12-year veteran, Astacio has also played for Los Angeles (1992-97), Colorado (1997-2001) and Houston (2001). He signed as a free agent with the Mets in 2002 and has a career record of 118-109 with a 4.58 ERA.

 

Scouting Report

 

2003 Season
Throughout the 2002 campaign, the Mets held their breath regarding Pedro Astacio's lingering shoulder troubles that included a frayed labrum. Despite the ailment, he threw more than 190 innings to guarantee a $6 million contract for 2003. Everything unraveled, however, early last year when the righthander missed most of April with biceps tendinitis and sat out the final four months of the season after undergoing surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right shoulder.


Pitching
Astacio is at his best when he trusts his stuff, which leads to plus command of his 90-MPH sinking fastball and a big-breaking curveball. He also throws a good changeup with solid depth and fade and mixes his three offerings well to keep hitters off-balance. The righthander is capable of being an innings-eater when he keeps his pitches down in the strike zone, resulting in numerous groundball outs. As effective as Astacio can be, he also can falter by trying to be too fine with his pitches, especially when his command is inconsistent. He is prone to surrendering a plethora of longballs when he leaves his heater up and his breaking ball falls flat.


Defense & Hitting
Despite his injuries, Astacio remains an above-average athlete. He covers his position well with good range from the mound. Astacio has soft hands, fast reflexes and good overall quickness. He holds runners well with his quick delivery and a solid pickoff move that will be called a balk a couple times per season. Astacio was one of the best bunters among the Mets' pitchers, and registered 10 hits during the 2002 season.


2004 Outlook
Astacio is a free agent and is not expected to re-sign with the Mets. For the second time in three years, he must prove his shoulder is healthy in order to receive an extended look in spring training. With the dearth of pitching in the major leagues, he will find a taker, although a long-term deal will not be forthcoming.

_______________

 

My take on this is not much because I do not remember seeing him pitch before, but if he is healthy and does really good in AAA Pawtucket then hey this guy maybe a real good asset to this team. Also I feel that his veteran presance in pawtucket may even help them out.

[Zenny]

Astacio was a very good for L.A. back in the day. He'll never be that pitcher again, but he may prove to be valuable at some point this season.

[elsrbueno]

This is a low-risk move for the Sox. A minor league contract, for the minimum wage. If he comes back and struggles in Pawtucket....the Red Sox are no worse off, and this move certainly shouldn't prevent them from making another move (if the opportunity arises)

[trot4mvp]

The way I see it, this is a low-risk/high-reward scenario. Boston will not expect much out of Astacio, so anything he can contribute to the team will be considered a "surprise". Worst case scenario: Astacio blows a game and gets sent back to AAA or is released...fine by me!

[CrespoBlows]

Pedro Astacio is now in Portland where he threw 4 shoutout innings, and struck out 4.

[empirestrikesback26]

whew, for a second i thought you re signed pedro martinez.

[schillingouttheks]

thats what we all pretty much thought until we read the first post...

 

please dont do something like that again..

[yeszir]

Topic title editted to avoid confusion

[schillingouttheks]

yea thanks...i almost killed myself when i saw "astacio that is"