NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Less than 24 hours after their rivals in the National League East added a superstar bat to their lineup, the New York Mets have and landed another veteran arm for their rotation.
The Mets announced Wednesday they have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with free agent righthander Pedro Astacio. The deal contains $5 million worth of incentives for this season and a $6 million vested option -- based on innings -- for 2003.
"We think the addition of Astacio reinforces the quality and depth of our rotation," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "It lengthens our rotation and provides a veteran righthander behind Al Leiter."
Astacio went 8-14 with a 5.09 ERA last season, splitting the year between Colorado and Houston. He made 22 starts for the Rockies, going 6-13 with a 5.49 ERA.
The 32-year-old Astacio was sent to the Astros, who were looking to acquire a veteran arm for the stretch run, at the trade deadline. He pitched well in four outings for Houston, going 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA.
But Astacio, who is 103-96 with a 4.50 ERA in a 10-year career that began in Los Angeles, missed the last month of 2001 with a partial tear in his right shoulder. He has pitched this winter in the Dominican Republic in an attempt to show teams he is healthy.
"We had a chance to watch him pitch in the Dominican Republic and we feel that he is throwing with the same flow and delivery of the last few years," Phillips added. "We have admired him for a few seasons but have never had the chance to acquire him."
On Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves bolstered their offense with the addition of slugging outfielder Gary Sheffield. New York had spent the better part of the last six weeks trying to bolster one of the game's worst offenses.
The Mets have acquired Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno and Mo Vaughn this offseason. But Tuesday's move by Atlanta and New York's failure to sign free agent slugger Juan Gonzalez had slowed the Mets' momentum.
Astacio joins a veteran staff that includes lefthanders Leiter, Shawn Estes, Glendon Rusch and Bruce Chen and righthander Steve Trachsel. New York reportedly has a couple of deals on the table that would swap one of their lefthanded starters for a power-hitting corner outfielder.
"Right now we have options and choices," Phillips concluded. "The way we feel right now is that we can sit back, wait for teams to come to us and make choices."
