With the race for the American League West crown hanging in the balance, the Houston Astros fortified their pitching staff with a major addition on Thursday.

According to Houston manager Joe Espada, Brent Strom will return to the Astros as a pitching consultant for the remainder of the 2026 campaign. The 77-year-old Strom was with the Astros from 2014-2021, helping Houston pitchers become a dominant force during the time period that included the 2017 World Series title.

Among those who benefited from Strom's previous run in Houston were Gerrit Cole, who posted two consecutive sub-3.00 ERA seasons (2018 and 2019) during his short stint in south Texas. 

Dallas Keuchel (2015) and Justin Verlander (2019) won AL Cy Young Awards under Strom's tutelage.

What Brent Strom could mean for the Houston Astros

Strom said it was time to move on from the Astros after Houston lost in the 2021 World Series to the Atlanta Braves. Since then, he has spent time with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Now back with the Astros, Houston's pitchers will likely get a boost during a critical time in the schedule. With just 29 regular-season games remaining, the Astros entered Thursday with a half-game over the Texas Rangers in the AL West, with the Rangers just 2.0 games back of the final AL wild-card spot.

He is expected to join the Astros as they begin a weekend road series against the New York Mets.

"It's a fresh (set) of eyes. He's going to be in our meetings. He's going to be helping in the throwing programs, video analysis,” Espada told reporters on Thursday. "I just feel like this is something we will benefit from having around."

Houston's pitchers currently rank 25th among MLB's 30 teams in ERA, starting Thursday with a combined 4.68 ERA. Over the last 14 days, Houston's combined ERA stands at 6.18.

Those numbers are not going to help in the push to get to the postseason, so Strom's arrival couldn't have come at a better time for Houston. During his initial stint with Houston, no AL team posted a lower ERA than the Astros. While it will be hard to morph this year's team into those kind of numbers, there is little doubt that Strom will be able to find some way to help Astros pitchers become more effective.