The Astros announced tonight (on Twitter) that they’ve re-signed lefty reliever Joe Thatcher to a minor league contract. Thatcher, a client of Platinum Sports, had elected free agency after being designated for assignment late last month. He’ll head to Triple-A Fresno, according to the Astros.
The 33-year-old Thatcher signed a minor league deal with Houston in the offseason but made the team out of Spring Training and has enjoyed generally successful results in his first year with the Astros. He’s posted a 3.79 ERA and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings, though he’s also battled his command, yielding 5.