The Astros will activate Tatsuya Imai from the injured list tomorrow. Houston lists him as the probable starter against Bryan Woo in the second game of a four-game set against the Mariners. They’ll need to option a pitcher as the corresponding move.
Imai returns after a month-long absence due to what the team called arm fatigue. The righty has had a difficult start to his MLB career, struggling in two of his first three appearances. He walked 11 hitters over his first 8 2/3 innings and failed to complete three innings twice. Imai’s pair of minor league rehab starts haven’t done much to assuage the command concerns, as he has issued another eight walks in five frames.
The Astros will likely go back to a six-man rotation. Spencer Arrighetti and Peter Lambert have stepped up in depth roles since Houston lost Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier to shoulder injuries. Mike Burrows has pitched well in his past three times out after a rocky start to the year. The Astros will continue giving Imai starts to try to get him on track after signing him to a three-year free agent contract.
Lance McCullers Jr. has continued to struggle. Kai-Wei Teng and Cody Bolton are candidates for the sixth starter spot, while Ryan Weiss and Jason Alexander could be back up in the second half of May after recently being optioned.
Nate Pearson was expected to be in that conversation when he signed a one-year free agent deal early in the offseason. Pearson was held up by offseason elbow surgery and has been on the injured list all season. He’s on a rehab assignment and will need to secure a spot on the MLB roster or be placed on waivers because he’s out of options.
The Astros announced on Monday that they’re now viewing Pearson as a reliever (relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Pearson walked multiple hitters in each of his first three rehab appearances before tossing a perfect inning for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday. He’s averaging 96.4 mph on his four-seam fastball. Houston has been without Josh Hader all season and placed Bennett Sousa back on the injured list over the weekend with elbow inflammation.
Hader began a rehab stint last week and could be back when first eligible on May 24. The Astros could get a pair of key position players back in the next couple weeks as well. Jeremy Peña should begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi tomorrow, while Jake Meyers is likely to begin his own rehab stint this week (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). The series of injuries have contributed to a dismal first month and a half of the season. Houston dropped to a season-low 10 games below .500 with tonight’s loss, tying the Angels for the worst record in the American League at 16-26.
The worst part of these injuries is that they are covering up Espada’s inadequacies.
No confidence in Joe Espada at all.
Man you guys give mlb managers way too much credit / fault. They have extremely little impact on what happens on the field.
The other game against the Reds, Teng was obviously gassed an Espada let him out for another inning. Like Mark DeRosa, Joe Espada MISCALCULATED who to start against the Rockies and used Cody Bolton instead of Ryan Weiss. Not great moves.
Go back and reread the comment you’re replying to
Ethan Pecko?
Ronald Reagan ???!!! The actor !!!????
Hader and Brown coming back will really help. Pena is going to help spark up a now quiet offense, Imai could be good or bad. Bolton and Teng both belong in the bullpen, and I don’t care about Meyers or Javier.
It doesn’t look like the Astros are going to shed the injury plague anytime soon. As the season goes, they’re going to drift further and further out of contention. It’s pretty obvious they are not the juggernaut they once were. It may be time to reload. This sounds unconscionable, but they need to start thinking about trading people. You have to keep Jose Altuve and unfortunately, Carlos Correa, but starting with Alvarez….