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Reliever Chad Qualls returns to Astros on two-year, $6-million deal

Reliever Chad Qualls inked a two-year deal with the Houston Astros on Saturday, the team announced.

The deal is worth $6 million plus incentives plus a club option for 2016 for $3.5 million, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

Qualls, 35, appeared in 66 games for the Miami Marlins in 2013 posting a 2.61 ERA. It's was his ninth straight season with at least 50 appearances. 

The right-hander was drafted by the Astros in the second round in 2000 and made his MLB debut for the team in July, 2004. He was on the Houston roster in 2005, when the team made its only appearance in the World Series.

"Improving our bullpen is a top priority this offseason," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement. "Bringing Chad back to Houston is a big step in that direction."

Well, probably anything is a step in a direction that leads away from a 51-111 season. The Astros finished fifth in the AL West, 45 games back of the division champion Athletics. 

Qualls, who noted to the Houston Chronicle that he didn't really know anyone in Miami, expects to be in a similar role coming back into the Astros clubhouse after eight seasons. Both teams are among the worst performing in the majors.

"Went over [to the Marlins] with just an open mind and kind of got to know all the guys and tried to just really be myself and help anyone who needed help," he said. 

The draw to a perennially bad baseball team? Comfort. His wife, Tara, is from the Houston area.

“There was another team that was pursuing me that was a perennial playoff-caliber team, World Series contender,” Qualls said. 

“I just couldn’t turn down the deal that Houston gave me and the fact that I can be so close to home. I know Houston, I know the area. I know everything there. I’ve played there when the city was thriving and the team was awesome and it would be nice to be a part of the rebuilding process.”

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