The Astros have designated right-hander for a signment, reports . Houston needed to open a roster spot for righty , who they off waivers from the White Sox. Kuhnel, 29 in February, came to the Astros in June via a cash deal, having spent his entire career with the Reds prior to that. He has 83 2/3 innings of major league experience between those two clubs with an earned run average of 6.02 in that time. His 19.3% strikeout rate is below par but his 6.5% walk rate and Yonathan Daza Jersey 52.5% ground ball rate are both strong. Its po sible theres some bad luck in there, as his .323 batting average on balls in play and 64.6% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side of average. Thats led to a 4.55 FIP and 5.57 SIERA that are a bit more optimistic than his actual ERA. Hes generally had similar results in the minors, with limited punchouts but lots of worm burners. Nonethele s, it seems hes the le ser of two ground ball guys, as Cronin has a similar profile and has now nabbed Kuhnels roster spot. The Astros will now have a week to trade Kuhnel or pa s him through waivers. If the latter scenario were to come to pa s, Kuhnel would be able to elect free agency due to the fact that he has a previous career outright. He still has an option year remaining though and could perhaps appeal to clubs in search of extra bullpen depth. Warming Bernabel Jersey