Spencer Arrighetti Sustains Right Thumb Fracture

April 8: Right-hander Luis Contreras will be recalled to take Arrighetti’s spot on the active roster for the time being, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2. Contreras was just optioned yesterday morning, but he can return in under the 15-day minimum for optioned pitchers since he’s a direct replacement for an injured player. Contreras will add some length to the ’pen in the short term but won’t replace Arrighetti in the rotation. The moves are now official, per Rome.

April 7: The Astros announced that Spencer Arrighetti suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand this afternoon. Manager Joe Espada told reporters earlier this evening that the righty was going for testing after a fluke injury (relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Arrighetti was playing catch in the outfield before tonight’s game in Seattle. A Mariner hitter taking batting practice hit a line drive that struck him in the hand.

It’s not clear for how long the injury will sideline the second-year pitcher. A thumb fracture on a pitcher’s throwing hand is obviously problematic. Arrighetti will probably land on the 15-day injured list tomorrow. Houston will go with Hayden Wesneski, Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown for the Seattle series. They’re off on Thursday. Arrighetti would have lined up for Friday’s series opener against the Angels.

The off day theoretically allows them to turn to Ronel Blanco, who was knocked out after 62 pitches in yesterday’s start in Minnesota, to pitch on regular rest on Friday. That could delay their need for a fifth starter until early next week. Houston doesn’t have any experienced rotation depth. Left-hander Colton Gordon, who has yet to make his MLB debut, is the only healthy starter on the 40-man roster who is pitching in Triple-A. Rookie righty Ryan Gusto is working in 2-3 innings stints out of the big league bullpen. He started 26 Triple-A contests last year and could be an option to stretch out for rotation work.

Lance McCullers Jr. might not be far off his first big league appearance in three years. The veteran righty began the season on the injured list as he works back from multiple arm surgeries. He has made a pair of minor league rehab starts. McCullers tossed 50 pitches in an outing for Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday. He might be back within the next couple weeks, so the Astros may only need a start or two from their younger arms.

Arrighetti tossed six innings of one-run ball against the Mets in his season debut. Minnesota tagged him for five runs on 3 2/3 frames on Saturday. He’s coming off a 4.53 ERA over 145 innings during his rookie year. There was more reason for optimism than that pedestrian season-long figure might suggest. Arrighetti carried a near-6.00 ERA into the All-Star Break but allowed only 3.18 earned runs per nine over his final 65 innings. He struck out nearly 30% of opposing hitters in the second half.