Astros sign Enyel De Los Santos, designate Luis Contreras for assignment

The Astros have signed right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to a major league deal. Fellow righty Nick Hernandez has been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding active roster move. Righty Luis Contreras has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to relay the moves.

De Los Santos, 29, was designated for assignment by Atlanta just over a week ago. He had signed a minor league deal with that club in the winter and cracked the Opening Day roster. He tossed 43 2/3 innings this year with a 4.53 earned run average, 20.1% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

Thanks to those lackluster results and his out-of-options status, he was bumped off the roster when Atlanta acquired Tyler Kinley from the Rockies. According to De Los Santos’ transactions tracker at MLB.com, he cleared waivers and elected free agency.

The Astros presumably feel there’s a way to get the righty back on track to his pre-2024 form. With Cleveland in 2022 and 2023, he tossed 119 innings with a 3.18 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. He earned one save and 19 holds in that span.

Last year, he bounced around the league and posted a combined 5.20 ERA for three different clubs, mostly due to a massive home run spike. He had allowed 21 home runs in his career from 2018 to 2023 but then allowed 17 in 2024 alone. Those struggles led him to be non-tendered by the White Sox, which allowed Atlanta to scoop him up on a minor league deal.

Houston will try to help him correct course. He is out of options, as mentioned, so his grip on a roster spot may be tenuous. However, if things go well and he sticks around through the end of the year, he could be retained for 2026 via arbitration.

Contreras, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Astros ahead of the 2024 season and was added to their 40-man roster in June of last year. He has served as an optionable depth arm for the Astros since then, tossing 18 big league innings with a 7.50 ERA.

His minor league work has declined this year, relative to 2024. Last year, he logged 46 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.74 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate. This year’s 3.34 ERA doesn’t look awful, especially in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but his 21.4% strikeout rate and 15.1% walk rate are both far worse than last year. He’s benefited from a .253 batting average on balls in play and 3.4% home run to fly ball rate.

With the trade deadline having passed, the Astros will have to put Contreras on waivers in the coming days. He is still optionable and has less than a year of service time, so perhaps he could appeal to a club looking for some cheap pitching depth.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images