Astros Place Jose Urquidy On Injured List

Prior to this afternoon’s game, the Astros placed José Urquidy on the 10-day injured list, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The righty exited his start Wednesday evening with shoulder discomfort and it had already been revealed he’d miss his upcoming start, so it’s not especially surprising he wound up on the IL. Baker said earlier this week an MRI hadn’t revealed “anything significant,” so it’s possible it’ll be a short-term absence.

Urquidy has again been highly productive in the early going. Over eight starts, the righty has pitched to a 3.22 ERA that’s a bit better than his strong 3.36 career mark. Urquidy has never racked up huge strikeout or ground ball totals, but he rarely walks hitters and has generally done a solid job of avoiding dangerous contact.

It’s not yet clear who’ll take Urquidy’s place in the rotation while he’s on the shelf, although a pair of Astros starters are progressing in recoveries from their own injuries. Framber Valdez was scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment during his recovery from a finger fracture with Triple-A Sugar Land today, and Jake Odorizzi isn’t far behind in that regard. Odorizzi is lined up to start tomorrow for Sugar Land (via Mark Berman of FOX 26) as he builds back from a pronator muscle strain in his forearm. (The Skeeters’ game this evening was subsequently rained out and will be made up with a doubleheader tomorrow).

To replace Urquidy on the active roster, Houston activated reliever Enoli Paredes from the IL. Paredes missed a little more than a month with a side issue. The 25-year-old has tossed 22 MLB innings over the past two seasons, working to a 2.86 ERA/5.37 SIERA.