Jordan Weems

The Astros have assigned right-hander Jordan Weems outright to Triple-A Sugar Land, according to the transactions tracker on Weems’s MLB.com profile page. Weems was designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for Tayler Scott on the club’s active roster.

The 32-year-old righty has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons at this point in his career. A third-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2011, Weems actually began his pro career as a catcher before converting to the mound in 2016. He reached Triple-A as a pitcher in 2019 with the Red Sox but struggled badly in eight appearances before electing minor league free agency and joining the A’s organization. He made his big league debut during the shortened 2020 campaign with Oakland and pitched quite well in nine appearances with a 3.21 ERA and a 31.0% strikeout rate in 14 innings of work.

That strong performance during the 60-game campaign was cause for optimism about Weems’s future, but he’s mostly been relegated to an up-and-down role in the years since then. He posted a 6.55 ERA across the next two seasons with Oakland, Arizona, and Washington but settled in with D.C. and stuck around there for the 2023 campaign. That turned out to be a career year for Weems, as he posted a 3.62 ERA in 51 middle relief appearances for the Nationals with a solid 25.9% strikeout rate. He was held back by a lackluster 12.1% walk rate, however, and underlying metrics like FIP (4.90) were far less impressed with his performance.

Weems stuck around with the Nats for the 2024 campaign, but it didn’t go nearly as well as the year prior. The right-hander was torched to the tune of a 6.70 ERA in 41 appearances. His strikeout rate plummeted to just 17.9% while his 12.2% walk rate actually ticked up slightly from the year prior. That brutal season left Weems to sign with Atlanta on a minor league deal this past offseason, but he posted a 5.09 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett before being released back in May. He’s been in the Astros organization ever since and has made two brief cameos on the major league roster where he’s surrendered seven runs on nine hits and three walks without recording a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings of work.

Brutal as those brief cups of coffee in the majors have been, Weems has actually looked quite good while pitching for Sugar Land. He’s posted a 3.06 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work with a solid 24.3% strikeout rate and a more manageable 9.5% walk rate. While work at Triple-A only goes so far for a 32-year-old journeyman, the fact that he’s done all of this while pitching in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League does lend further legitimacy to his strong performance. Now that Weems has been outrighted to Triple-A, he’ll likely continue serving as a depth option for the Astros who can be called upon when there’s a gap in the roster, as was the case in each of his two call-ups to Houston this year.

The Astros announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever Jordan Weems from Triple-A Sugar Land. Left-hander Colton Gordon was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Houston had an open 40-man spot.

It’s Weems’ second Astros stint of the season. He was up briefly from late June into early July, tossing three innings and allowing a pair of runs on five hits and no walks without a strikeout. Weems had opened the season in the Braves organization after signing a minor league deal but opted out of that contract and landed with Houston instead. He’s pitched well for their Triple-A club, logging 17 2/3 innings with a 3.06 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

Weems, 32, has now pitched in parts of six major league seasons. He’s previously suited up for the A’s, D-backs and Nationals. Add in his brief stint with the ’Stros earlier in the summer, and the 6’4″ righty has totaled 158 2/3 big league frames with a 5.28 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 37% ground-ball rate. He’s not far removed from posting a 3.62 ERA in a career-high 54 2/3 innings with the 2023 Nats, though that production came in spite of an ugly 12.1% walk rate and 1.48 HR/9. Some regression seemed inevitable, and Weems indeed struggled mightily with the ’24 Nats.

The call to the majors for Weems comes just one day after Houston placed star closer Josh Hader on the injured list with a shoulder strain. It’s still not clear how long Hader will be sidelined. Obviously, Weems isn’t going to be viewed as any kind of replacement. The Astros will mix and match in the ninth inning, giving save opportunities to righty Bryan Abreu and lefties Bryan King, Bennett Sousa and Steven Okert. Weems adds some depth to backfill the bullpen, though it’s also possible that he’s just being called up as a fresh arm and is in for another short stint on the roster. Houston was shellacked 14-1 at the hands of the Red Sox yesterday and used three relievers before turning things over to outfielder Chas McCormick to pitch the final two frames of mop-up work.

The Astros re-signed reliever Jordan Weems to a minor league contract, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The righty heads back to Triple-A Sugar Land. Weems elected free agency yesterday after Houston outrighted him off the 40-man roster.

Weems made two big league appearances, tossing three innings of two-run ball. The 32-year-old righty had spent a few weeks with Sugar Land before being called up. He allowed five runs over 11 1/3 frames, striking out 10 while issuing six walks. He’d posted a 5.09 earned run average in 17 2/3 innings with Atlanta’s top farm team earlier in the year. Weems carries a 4.66 mark across 29 combined innings, striking out 21.4% of batters faced while walking more than 12% of opponents.

The brief MLB stint marked Weems’ sixth season logging MLB action. He got a decent amount of work in middle relief with the Nationals between 2022-24. Weems combined for a 5.03 ERA in 136 innings over that trio of seasons. Washington outrighted him off the roster last August, sending him to minor league free agency at the end of the year. Weems is now out of options, so the Astros needed to run him through waivers to take him out of the MLB bullpen.

The Astros have signed right-hander Jordan Weems to a minor league deal, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The righty will report to Triple-A Sugar Land and provide the Astros with some non-roster depth.

Weems, 32, was released by Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. He had signed a minor league deal with that club in the offseason and was at the Triple-A level to start the year. He logged 17 2/3 innings with a 5.09 earned run average. His 12.5% walk rate was on the high side but his 22.5% strikeout rate was decent and his 45.1% ground ball rate was pretty solid.

That wasn’t enough to get him called up to the big leagues but he has some respectable major league work on his track record. Over 2022 and 2023, he logged 94 1/3 innings for the Nationals with a 4.29 ERA. His 10.1% walk rate was a bit worse than par but he struck out 25.4% of batters faced. Unfortunately, things turned sour last year. His strikeout rate dropped to 17.9% and his walk rate ticked up to 12.2%, leading to a 6.70 ERA. He was outrighted to the minors in August and elected free agency at season’s end.

Between last year’s major league work and this year’s stint in the minors, it hasn’t been a great stretch for the righty. However, as mentioned, he was a serviceable big leaguer in the prior two seasons. For the Astros, there’s no real risk in bringing him aboard via a minor league deal to get a close-up look at him. Their bullpen has been pretty good this year but there’s no harm in adding some extra non-roster depth in case some injuries pop up in the coming weeks or months.

Photo courtesy of Mike Lang, Imagn Images.