Five years after leaving the Houston Astros, longtime pitching coach Brent Strom is returning as a consultant to help the team's struggling staff. Strom will join the club for Friday's game against the New York Mets. Houston manager Joe Espada said Strom will be uniform and in the dugout during games.

Strom was Houston's pitching coach from 2014 to 2021, when the Astros made three World Series appearances. He left after the 2021 World Series loss to Atlanta, and Joshua Miller has served as Houston's pitching coach for five seasons. After leaving the Astros, Strom spent the next three seasons in the same capacity for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who reached the World Series in 2023.

Houston's 4.65 ERA ranks 25th among the 30 big league clubs. The starters have a 5.14 ERA, third-worst in the majors, yet the Astros (67-67) hold a one-game lead in the weak American League West over Texas. It's a fresh set of eyes, Espada said. He's going to be in our meetings. He's going to be helping in the throwing programs, video analysis.