Report: Astros to Scout Roger Clemens Again, Fueling Speculation He May Join Houston After Next Start

by Ricky Doyle on Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 8:15AM

Roger Clemens' "comeback" isn't a one-and-done, as the 50-year-old will make another start for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters on Sept. 7. After that, however, it could be back to the bigs for Rocket.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said he plans to have a scout watch Clemens' Sept. 7 outing, according to CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman. The Astros, of course, checked out Clemens' first start with the Skeeters last Saturday.

But according to CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler, the upcoming start might then evolve into something bigger. Knobler reports that the strong speculation throughout baseball has been that if all goes "reasonably well that night," Clemens will pitch for the Astros five days later on Sept. 12.

Clemens performed well in his first independent league start, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings, but rejoining the majors is obviously a huge step up — even if it is for the lowly Astros. The right-hander hasn't pitched in the bigs since 2007, when he went 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) with the Yankees.

Many believe Clemens may be eyeing a major league comeback in order to delay his Hall of Fame eligibility for another five years, at which point he may be more distanced from the controversial 2013 ballot.