Poll: Who Would You Like To See As The Astros Closer?

The Houston Astros didn’t have many issues at closer last season. Yet, after making a big trade in the offseason, we find ourselves in camp with two competent closers this season.

Luke Gregerson signed a three-year, $18.5 million last offseason and won the closers job out of spring training. The 30-year old had little closing experience before coming to Houston, amassing just 19 saves in six previous seasons.

What Gregerson did have was the numbers to back up the decision. The former Padres and Athletics reliever was known as one of the best set-up men in baseball, never finishing a season with an ERA higher than 3.25, and in his four previous seasons before joining Houston, he didn’t finish a season with an ERA above 2.75.

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In his first full year in Houston, Gregerson was more than dependable, finishing with a 3.10 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP to go along with 31 saves in 61 innings. Most teams would take those numbers from their closer and I’d say A.J. Hinch was plenty pleased with Luke as his closer.

The problem the Astros faced down the stretch was with the rest of their bullpen. Lockdown pitchers for the first several months, Will Harris and Pat Neshek, struggled in August and September, thus thinning out the back-end of the bullpen. Adding a closer at the deadline would have been huge for the Astros down the stretch and you could say they may have advanced farther in the playoffs with Aroldis Chapman or Craig Kimbrel in September and October.

But the past is the past and GM Jeff Luhnow appears to have learned from it.

This offseason the Astros added a closer, albeit a very young one in Ken Giles. The 25-year old has been downright filthy in his first two seasons in the big leagues. The former Phillies closer holds a career 1.56 ERA, the lowest in baseball history with at least 100 innings pitched.