MLB Rumors: Astros Nearing Deal With Veteran Fernando Rodney

The Houston Astros are reportedly nearing a deal to sign 43-year-old Fernando Rodney to address their injury-hit bullpen. Rodney is currently playing with the Sugarland Skeeters but a buyout is being worked out. The move remains pending until Fernando passes a physical.

The Astros find themselves looking for replacement players after being hit by injuries. Though they have won three of their first four games, several pitchers went down with an injury. The most notable name on that list is Justin Verlander who will sit out for several weeks due to a forearm strain, CBS Sports reported.

Rodney may seem like an odd choice with some singling out his age. Should he pass the physical, the Astros would be the 43-year-old's 12 MLB club. If all goes accordingly, Rodney would be the oldest active player in the MLB.

During the 2019 MLB season, Rodney split his time with the Oakland Athletics and the Washington Nationals. With the Nationals, Rodney had a 4.05 ERA and a 48.3 percent ground-ball rate. He also owned a heater still average of 94.2 mph with Washington.

With no takers, the three-time All-Star joined the Skeeters in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Now, he will try to show the majors that he still has something left to show. His agent, Biran Mejia, would not confirm any conversation with SportsRadio 610 but said that his client feels good and is eager to prove he can still pitch in the big leagues.

Aside from Verlander, the Astros are dealing with a long list of injured players. That includes Rogelio Armenteros, Chris Devenski, Brad Peacock, Ryan Pressly, Austin Pruitt and Jose Urquidy.

More to that, Houston is also without Francis Martes who is suspended due to performance-enhancing drugs. The Astros are also without Joe Smith who opted out this season. With a thinning line of players, the Astros had to make do with Robert Osuna and Joe Biagini.

"I'm hoping we learned a lesson by this. It couldn't be helped because of the coronavirus, but I'm just hoping we don't see any more injuries around the league, especially on our team," team manager Dusty Baker said to MLB.com.