HOUSTON -- Looking for a chance to pitch meaningful innings on a team likely to contend in the American League in 2021, veteran reliever Ryne Stanek signed a one-year deal to join the Astros bullpen on Thursday. The deal is worth $1.1 million, a source told MLB.com.

¡°Obviously, the team is really good and looking for a chance to play for a championship,¡± Stanek told MLB.com. ¡°That¡¯s the whole plan. I really like how they run things. Their analytics department, their player development and everybody is really good. And obviously they¡¯ve shown a really good track record of helping guys get better, and that¡¯s the whole plan -- to come out here and play better and win.¡±

Stanek, 29, made his mark on being used as the ¡°opener¡± by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018-19, making 56 starts, none of which lasted more than two innings. He spent last season with the Marlins and allowed eight runs in 10 innings for Miami after battling COVID-19 last summer.

¡°Last year, I feel like I can almost write it off as an anomaly,¡± he said. ¡°It was crazy from start to finish. I felt pretty good with how I finished the season. I was throwing the ball really well. I didn¡¯t really have a big sample size, so I think just coming in with a full season and getting back to some normalcy will definitely be a plus.¡±

Stanek will help fill a spot in a Houston bullpen that saw veterans Roberto Osuna, Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock depart via free agency. With a career fastball average of 97.7 mph, Stanek will compete for a spot at the back end of the Astros' bullpen, which currently features Ryan Pressly and Joe Smith, who sat out last season. Lefties Brooks Raley and Blake Taylor and right-hander Enoli Paredes figure to have jobs locked down in 2021, as well.

¡°First and foremost, the stuff that he has, he can get big outs in big situations and he was looking for an opportunity to win a leverage role in a bullpen,¡± said Astros GM James Click, who was hired from the Rays a year ago. ¡°That¡¯s something that we can certainly use and I think a lot of teams can use. Especially in our situation, we¡¯re hoping to have a lot of big outs to get in 2021, and he¡¯s one of the guys we identified as someone that can do that for us.¡±

Osuna began last season as Houston¡¯s closer but appeared in only four games after suffering an elbow injury early in the season. Pressly, an All-Star setup man, slid to the closer¡¯s role, but he is better suited in a setup position. Smith was terrific in 2019 (1.80 ERA), but he chose to sit out last year for family reasons. Stanek plans to be in the mix for a leverage role.

¡°That¡¯s obviously what I¡¯m looking for,¡± he said. ¡°I think one of my strengths, obviously, is something that I¡¯ve been able to do a bunch of different things. I¡¯ve pitched in a lot of different situations and had success doing that, so I think the ability to be flexible for me and do whatever they see for me is a plus.¡±

Both the Astros and Stanek aren¡¯t putting much stock in his 2020 numbers, which came during a pandemic-shortened season. In his last full season in '19, which he split between the Rays and Marlins, Stanek struck out 89 batters in 77 innings with a 3.97 ERA. He posted a 1.09 WHIP and 2.98 ERA in 66 1/3 innings for the Rays in ¡¯18.

¡°Last year, of all years -- it¡¯s very, very difficult to draw a lot of conclusions about how that performance should be used when factoring in what a guy is going to do going forward,¡± Click said. ¡°First and foremost, we know who Ryne is as a competitor and we know who he is as a pitcher and the stuff that he has. Him being fully healthy, I think he will return to form with no problem.¡±

The Astros¡¯ search for bullpen help isn¡¯t done. Sources say the club has been targeting some of the biggest free-agent relievers on the market, including Brad Hand, Alex Colomé, Liam Hendriks and Trevor Rosenthal.

¡°We¡¯re still actively pursuing several other options and certainly don¡¯t anticipate this being the last move of the offseason,¡± Click said. ¡°We¡¯re obviously excited about the guys that stepped up for us in 2020, but we¡¯re going to have a lot of big outs to get in 2021 and beyond that. We¡¯re probably going to be tested depth-wise as a lot of guys will go from having thrown very few innings in 2020 to throwing a lot of innings in 2021. We are going to need a deep, talented roster to cover all those extra innings.¡±