The Houston Astros signed pitcher Miguel Gomez to a minor league contract, Colombia scouting assistant Alfredo Sierra Coronado announced Jan. 30. Gomez, who is from Moñitos, Colombia, is the 19th confirmed free-agent addition for Houston in the current international signing period which opened Jan. 15.
“Congratulations to his coaches and family for this achievement,” Sierra Coronado wrote. “This is the first step in a long journey in baseball.”
The Astros are also in the process of signing right-handed pitcher Darian Carrera to a minor league contract. The organization is reaching an agreement with Carrera’s club, the Sultanes de Monterrey, in Mexico. Carrera, Gomez and Panamanian right-handed pitcher Cristian Navarro are all three working out at the Academia Houston Astros in the Dominican Republic with other Astros prospects. Navarro is in agreement to sign in 2024.
Astros Release Seven Prospects
The Astros released seven prospects Sunday, as spring training nears its final weeks. Right-handed pitchers Alfredi Jimenez, Heitor Tokar, Jojanse Torres, Cody Deason, Willy Collado, Shea Barry and Brett Conine all became free agents. While Houston dropped a Florida Complex League team this spring, multiple sources within the organization noted the Astros will have to condense the size of their farm.
Jimenez missed most of the 2022 season with an undisclosed injury. When he returned from a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League, the righty continued to struggle against High-A bats. He posted an 8.55 ERA over 20 innings. Fellow Tourist, Tokar, also spent time on the shelf in 2022. After 76.1 innings with an 8.02 ERA, he pitched for Team Brazil in the 2023 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers.
Torres, who was once considered a top pitching prospect in the system, found himself in Double-A last season, after returning from elbow surgery in Triple-A to start the year. The Astros gave the righty an outing in the Grapefruit League, which ended with five runs on three hits and two walks over 0.2 innings. Deason returned from Tommy John surgery in 2021 and made it through a full season in 2022. The Arizona product sported a 6.14 ERA in 77.2 innings.
Collado also returned from elbow injury, rehabbing in the Florida Complex League last summer. He’s approaching his 25th birthday later this month without any Triple-A innings behind him. Barry, the Astros’ 22nd-round pick in 2019, pitched the last two seasons in Fayetteville, where his ERA sat north of 6.00.
The Astros invited Conine to Major League camp in 2021 but excluded the right-handed starter the last two springs. He made one Grapefruit League appearance, striking out one batter over a perfect frame. Although once receiving praise for strong command, Conine saw a dip in production in two full seasons for Sugar Land.
Be sure to subscribe to receive weekly updates on the Astros minor league system. Also be sure to follow on Twitter, @AstrosFuture, and like on Facebook, facebook.com/AstrosFuture.
