Astros officially announce signing of Colby Rasmus, designate Carlos Corporan for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
After a day filled with rumors that began on The Crawfish Boxes and reports of the Houston Astros and Colby Rasmus working on a deal, the deal is done. The Astros announced the signing of the former Toronto Blue Jay, Colby Rasmus:
The Houston Astros have signed free agent OF Colby Rasmus to a one-year contract through the 2015 season.
— Houston Astros (@astros) January 20, 2015
The deal is a one-year contract for a reported $8 million reports Jon Morosi of Fox Sports:
Colby Rasmus' deal with the #Astros will be worth $8 million, source says.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 20, 2015
Rasmus was originally selected in the first-round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. At the time of the draft, current Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow served as a vice president. Rasmus was traded to the Blue Jays in 2011 as part of a eight-player deal. During his four seasons with the Blue Jays, Rasmus started 347 games in center field (408 games total) and batted .234/.295/.438.
To make room for Rasmus on the roster, the Astros announced a corresponding move to designate Carlos Corpoan for assignment.
Carlos Corporan designated for assignment.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) January 20, 2015
Corporan served as the Astros backup catcher for the past two seasons. Corporan was signed as a free agent 2010 after being cut by the Diamondbacks, Houston would cut and resign Corporan a year later. Last season Corporan appeared in 55 games, and batted .226/.286/.350.
Corporan's depature has been written the wall since the acquisition of former Angels' catcher Hank Conger this past November. That was only compound with the recent of addition of catcher Evan Gattis. The Astros had five players that could play catcher on their 40-man roster coming into today - Jason Castro, Max Stassi, Conger, Gattis, and Corporan. The Astros have ten days to complete their transaction.