Houston ? Roger Clemens is coming out of retirement again, agreeing to a $22 million contract to pitch for the Houston Astros for the rest of 2006.

The 43-year-old Clemens, who will be entering his 23rd major league season, is agreeing first to a minor league deal that pays $322,000 over the five-month minor league season. His first start is likely to be at Lexington, Ky., the Class-A team where his oldest son, Koby, plays.

If all goes well, his second start would be June 11 at Double-A Corpus Christi, Texas, followed by a start June 16 at Triple-A Round Rock, Texas. He could be pitching in the big leagues by June 22.

“The ball’s in my court now,” Clemens said Wednesday at a news conference to announce his return. “This was a difficult decision on my part in a number of situations. I have to now take the next step and get my body ready to come back, get effective, win games.”

Even with an abbreviated season ahead, Clemens is uncertain how he’ll hold up physically.

“I can get into a game situation and my body not respond like I want it to,” he said. “I pushed my body hard, but I still need to get some competitive innings, stressful innings.

Roger Clemens talks at a news conference after re-signing with the Houston Astros. Clemens revealed his plans Wednesday in Houston.

“I call them stressful innings because, at my age, it’s stressful.”

Clemens first retired after the 2003 season, then changed his mind and joined his hometown Astros after former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte left New York to sign with Houston. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner said he was “99 percent” retired after 2004, but he came back for Houston’s 2005 run to the World Series.

Then, after the Astros were swept by the Chicago White Sox, Clemens again said he considered himself retired. But he never formally said farewell to baseball and always left open the possibility of returning, even pitching for the United States in the World Baseball Classic.

When he is added to the major league roster, he gets a one-year contract worth $22,000,022 – his uniform number is 22. Because he won’t be playing the full season, he gets only a prorated percentage of that, which would come to about $12.25 million if he rejoins Houston in late June.