Chacon, a free agent, mulled offers from several teams, including Pittsburgh. Houston appealed to him because manager Cecil Cooper promised in a phone conversation last Saturday that Chacon would compete for a starting job.
"I had opportunities elsewhere," Chacon said as he arrived at the Astros' spring training complex. "My main thing was wanting to start and I'm getting an opportunity here."
Behind ace Roy Oswalt, Chacon will vie for a spot in the rotation with Brandon Backe, Woody Williams, Wandy Rodriguez and Chris Sampson, among others.
"I think there's been one season I've come in and had a guaranteed spot and that was a long time ago," Chacon said. "I'm excited about the competition. It makes you better. I don't want anything handed to me."
Chacon was an NL All-Star for Colorado in 2003, finishing 11-8 with a 4.60 ERA in 23 starts. He finished ninth in the NL with 35 saves the following year, the second-highest single-season save total in Rockies history.
If Chacon is left out of the Astros rotation, he won't complain about settling into a relief role once again.
"If it's decided that I can better suit this team by being in the 'pen, then so be it," he said. "I'm going to go out and pitch regardless and try to help this team win."
General manager Ed Wade made Chacon an offer last week and the two sides wrangled over contract details before Chacon finally accepted. He was ready for the process to end and already feels like he's lost valuable preparation time.
"To be honest, getting so late, I'm a week into spring training and I didn't want to wait much longer," he said. "I was excited, getting ready to go. It came to a point where, I'm like, 'All right, I'm being treated fairly, so let's go to work.'"
Chacon immediately hit the practice field as the sunlight faded Wednesday, playing catch with bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte.
"I know Houston didn't have as good as a season as they wanted to last year," he said. "I think they're ready to get back on top."
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