he was traded for the fourth time, on june 14, 2002, to the cincinnati reds for jim brower. he only made 1 start for the reds and appeared in relief 39 times, with a 4.31 era. released by the reds, he was signed as a free agent by the houston astros on march 14, 2003. he appeared in only 11 games and had an era of 6.00 with the astros. the boston red sox selected him off waivers from the astros on may 7, 2003. he appeared in 5 games for the red sox, with 2 starts and had a 5.11 era.