The two biggest moves the Astros made in the offseason were the acquisitions of Joe Niekro and José Cruz. The Astros bought Niekro from the Braves for almost nothing. Niekro had bounced around the big leagues with minimal success. His older brother Phil Niekro had started teaching Joe how to throw his knuckleball and Joe was just starting to use it when he came to the Astros. Niekro won six games, saved four games and had an ERA of 3.07. José Cruz was also a steal, in retrospect, from the Cardinals. Cruz became a fixture in the Astros' outfield for several years and would eventually have his number 25 retired.