The Houston Astros have signed outfielder/first baseman Nick Stavinoha to a minor-league contract, the club announced via Twitter.
A former seventh-round draft pick out of Louisiana State University, Stavinoha spent five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals before signing with the Houston Astros today. He made several stints with the Cardinals major-league squad, but never found any success with the red birds. Stavinoha hit .234/.256/.325 with only 4 homers and a terrible strikeout-to-walk ratio (7:1) in 147 major-league games (278 plate appearances) from 2008 to 2010 with the Cardinals.
Stavinoha spent all of 2011 playing for the Cardinals' Class Triple-A affiliate down in Memphis. The 29-year-old hit .270/.329/.488 while mashing 28 homers and 30 doubles in 586 plate appearances in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The Astros will take a flyer on him and hope for the best ... but like many, Stavinoha may just be a product of the PCL.
The Astros also signed outfielder Travis Buck to a minor league pact earlier today.