The offseason is the time of year to take chances on pitchers that could offer high reward at low risk. The Houston Astros may have made one of those moves last month.
The Astros signed former Atlanta Braves farmhand and reliever Amos Willingham to a minor league deal on Nov. 28 and then assigned him to Triple-A Sugar Land. He spent last season in the minors for the Braves, playing for four different affiliates due to an injury but eventually threw for Triple-A Gwinnett.
He has pitched in the Majors before. He threw in 19 games with the Washington Nationals in 2023 and 2024. But the 27-year-old has been a pro since 2019, when he was Washington’s 17th round pick in the MLB draft.
What Amos Willingham Could Offer Astros
While he hasn’t had much success at the Major League level, what stands out is his strikeout rate at the minor league level. In six years in the minors, almost exclusively as a reliever, he’s struck out 285 hitters over 281.1 innings, basically punching out a hitter an inning. He’s proven to be a pitcher of record frequently, with a 21-12 record and a 4.00 ERA. He’s also been used as a leverage set-up man and closer. He has 26 career holds, with 12 saves in 26 chances.
He probably won’t be a Major League closer, especially as his conversion rate slowed the past two years. He closed out five of six games in 2023 in the Nationals’ system, giving the organization hope that it might have grown a closer. But, in the two years since, he’s only converted one save in seven chances. Atlanta’s system only gave him one chance to close a game last season.
What has made him successful in the minors hasn’t translated to the Majors yet, though he hasn’t had much of a chance. In 2023 he debuted with the Nats and went 0-2 with a 6.66 ERA in 18 games, with 15 strikeouts and nine walks in 24.1 innings. Batters hit a robust .377 against him. In 2024, he was only recalled once and he gave up two runs and two hits in one inning.
That he only pitched in one game while struggling with converting saves at Triple-A Rochester was likely indicative of his standing in the organization. After a 6-3 season with the Red Wings, with a 3.69 ERA in 55 games with a career best 11 holds, the Nats designated him for assignment in January of this year.
Willingham has shown good strikeout stuff at the minor league level. The Astros will likely invite him to spring training and give him a chance to win a job. To do that, he’s going to have to show he can strike out MLB level hitters and limit baserunners during exhibition games to give himself a shot at the opening-day roster. The Astros could use both as they rebuild a significant part of their bullpen in 2026.
