Former Astros Starter Announces Retirement

A member of the 2017 World Champion Houston Astros announced his retirement on Monday.

Collin McHugh, a pitcher who helped the Astros win their first World Series title, wrapped up his 11-year career last season with the Atlanta Braves. The 36-year-old leaves the game with a 71-47 record and a 3.72 ERA.

He played the bulk of his career with the Astros, joining the team in 2014 after the Astros claimed him off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.

To that point, McHugh hadn’t gotten much traction in the Majors, failing to win a game in three seasons with the New York Mets and the Rockies.

With the Astros, his career flourished. In his first season with Houston in 2014 he earned a starting rotation spot and went 11-9 with a 2.73 ERA in 25 starts, his first full season in the Majors. He finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting.

In 2015 McHugh had the best season of his career. He went 19-7 with a 3.89 ERA in 32 starts, as he set a career-high 203 innings. He also struck out 171. He finished eighth in AL Cy Young award voting.

McHugh went 13-10 in 2016, finishing with a 4.34 ERA and a career-high 177 strikeouts. It was his last full season as a starter in the Majors.

In 2017 injuries limited him to 12 starts and a 5-2 record, but he made two postseason appearances with the Astros en route to their first title.

In 2018 he moved into a bullpen role with Houston and went 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 58 games and 72 innings. In 2019 he won a job in the starting rotation but later lost it and finished 4-5 with a 4.70 ERA in 35 games, eight of which were starts.

After skipping the 2020 season as he opted out of the season due to COVID, he finished his career with Tampa Bay in 2021 and Atlanta in 2022-23.

For his career, McHugh went 71-47 with a 3.72 ERA. With Houston he went 58-35 with a 3.63 ERA.