The Houston Astros have made their first real move of the offseason and acquired a pitcher who could add to their depth on the staff.
As first reported by Aram Leighton of Just Baseball, Houston has agreed to a minor league deal with former Colorado Rockies right-hander Peter Lambert. The 28-year-old has not pitched in Major League Baseball since 2024 and spent the 2025 season in Japan playing for the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball.
After beginning his career as a starter back in 2019, Lambert pitched in mostly a bullpen role in 2024 before becoming a starting pitcher full time again in Japan.
May 2, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Colorado Rockies stating pitcher Peter Lambert (20) pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The righty made 21 starts this season and pitched to a respectable 4.26 ERA in 116.1 innings. Concerning numbers though were a 1.504 WHIP and an overall struggle with command. While Lambert was striking out batters at a higher rate than he had his entire career with 104 K’s, the walks were way up too.
With 4.0 BB/9, Lambert allowed 52 walks, meaning every other strikeout came with a free base as well. The overall record of 3-11 is unsightly looking too, but a lot of this can come down to poor luck. Overall, a K rate over 20 percent is a major green flag, but the BB rate was over 10 percent as well.
The command struggles reflected the continuing of a concerning trend Lambert was showing during his final season in the Major Leagues in 2024 as well.
May 15, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Jacob Stallings (25) and relief pitcher Peter Lambert (20) celebrate on the field after defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images
Pitching stats in Colorado should always be taken with a grain of salt due to the elevation of course suiting hitters much more so than arms, but the command can be looked at and analyzed.
With a 5.72 ERA over 28 appearances — just three of which were starts — for the Rockies in 2024, Lambert allowed a 1.663 WHIP with 29 walks in 61.1 innings to make for a borderline dreadful 4.3 BB/9 rate.
It should be noted that Lambert would likely only see the big league roster in case of injuries again — which are always inevitable — or simply performing too well in Triple-A to keep off the field and the Astros are not putting a ton of stock into him saving the day in the bullpen.
With that said though, Houston clearly saw something they liked enough about Lambert to bring him in, and it would not be a surprise to see him be one of the first names to get a shot when minor league bullpen depth needs to be called upon.