Ryan Weiss, who agreed to a free-agent deal with the Astros, pitched in the Arizona and Kansas City systems before heading overseas. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images

In their search for pitching, the Houston Astros are bringing in a candidate who spent the last two years revitalizing his career overseas.

Ryan Weiss, a 28-year-old right-hander, and the Astros are in agreement on a major-league deal, two people with knowledge confirmed Tuesday. The deal, which ESPN reported is for $2.6 million in 2026 and includes an option for 2027, is pending a physical. MLB.com first reported the agreement.

Weiss played most of the past two seasons with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League in South Korea, where he compiled a 21-10 record and a 3.16 ERA in 46 starts. He posted a 2.87 ERA in 178 ⅔ innings this season with Hanwha.

Houston has made adding starting pitching its top priority this winter, with erstwhile ace Framber Valdez expected to depart in free agency. Weiss would be a candidate to join a rotation which projects to return Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti, but is unsettled beyond that.

Weiss was drafted in the fourth round by Arizona in 2018 out of Wright State and pitched in parts of five minor-league seasons, mostly as a reliever. He posted a 6.72 ERA in 70 outings at the Triple-A level in the Diamondbacks and Royals systems before his release by Kansas City in May 2023.

After two stints with the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League and a short time in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Weiss signed with the Hanwha Eagles partway through the 2024 season and posted a 3.73 ERA in 91 ⅔ innings that year.

He returned to Hanwha on a reported one-year, $950,000 deal in 2025 and compiled a 16-5 record and 2.87 ERA in 30 starts, striking out 207 batters in 178 ⅔ innings. Weiss was teammates with Cody Ponce, who won the KBO’s MVP award and reportedly agreed to a deal with Toronto on Tuesday.

Weiss will seek to make his major-league debut in 2026. Nate Pearson, Houston’s first potential rotation addition this winter, also has a slight major-league track record, leaving open a question of whether the team will pursue a more established starter via free agency or trade to bolster the unit.

Regardless, the Astros were in need of rotation depth. Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski will miss at least the start of 2026 recovering from elbow surgeries, and Houston is currently set to return just two pitchers – Brown and Colton Gordon – who threw at least 86 major-league innings in 2025.