Astros Notes: Imai, Pearson, Peña, Meyers
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.
Astros Reinstate Bennett Sousa From Injured List
The Astros have activated left-hander Bennett Sousa from the 15-day injured list, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Fellow lefty Colton Gordon is being optioned in a corresponding move.
Sousa ended 2025 on the injured list with left elbow inflammation and has been out so far in 2026 due to a left oblique strain. The erstwhile waiver claim broke out as a key reliever for Houston in 2025 before the elbow injury. In 50 2/3 innings across 44 appearances, Sousa had a 2.84 ERA and struck out 29.6% of opposing hitters. His performance was no fluke, as Sousa’s 2.88 xERA and 2.72 FIP were close matches for his bottom-line numbers. He is still a pre-arbitration player and won’t reach free agency until 2030, so he is valuable from a contract standpoint as well.
Sousa’s return gives Houston a third solid lefty reliever to complement Bryan King and Steven Okert. Like Sousa, King did well in an extended look in 2025, posting a 2.78 ERA and strong expected stats in 68 innings. Although he surrendered 10 home runs (1.38 HR/9), he demonstrated pristine control with a 4.0% walk rate and generated plenty of soft contact. Meanwhile, the veteran Okert navigated a drop in four-seam velocity to improve his control and keep the ball in the yard. He allowed six home runs in 71 2/3 innings last year after allowing six in less than half the innings for the Twins the year before.
Having the trio of King, Okert, and Sousa is a boon for a Houston bullpen that is missing its most prized lefty. Closer Josh Hader is currently on the 60-day injured list with left biceps tendinitis and is eligible to return in late May at the earliest. Enyel De Los Santos has recorded three of the team’s six saves in Hader’s absence. A repeat performance from Sousa would go a long way to stabilizing the bullpen, which has struggled overall. Key arms like Bryan Abreu and Ryan Weiss are off to bad starts, and the group’s 5.94 ERA is better than only the Royals.
As for Gordon, the 27-year-old heads to Triple-A where he’ll bide his time as a depth option. The 2021 eighth-round draft pick debuted in the Majors last year but was largely ineffective. Gordon posted a 5.34 ERA in 86 innings across 20 appearances, 14 of which were starts. He also struck out a below-average 19.0% of hitters and surrendered more than two home runs per nine innings. His 5.1% career walk rate is a positive, but not enough to overcome the rest of his profile. Having mostly worked as a starter, Gordon could receive the stray spot start or long relief appearance if and when he gets brought back up.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Astros Notes: Harris, Loperfido, Allen, Sousa
Outfielder Dustin Harris is expected to be with the Astros “soon,” manager Joe Espada told reporters, including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Harris was nabbed off waivers from the White Sox on Saturday. The 26-year-old appeared in six games with Chicago.
Harris was off to a decent start in a part-time role. He got on base at a hefty .438 clip and chipped in two steals to open the season. The 26-year-old was called up when Austin Hays went to the IL in early April. Harris was squeezed off the roster after the White Sox called up infield prospect Sam Antonacci.
The lefty-swinging Harris was drafted by the Athletics but has spent most of his professional career with the Rangers. The outfielder debuted with the club in 2023. He totaled 50 plate appearances between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Harris hasn’t had an extended chance to flash the power/speed combo he showed in the minors. He put together a 20/25 season between Single-A and High-A in 2021. Harris has swiped 30+ bags in the minors in each of the past three years.
Harris would seem to be a replacement for Joey Loperfido. The outfielder is expected to land on the IL, per Espada, as relayed by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Loperfido was removed with a quad injury in the sixth inning of Friday’s loss to the Cardinals.
Houston acquired Loperfido from the Blue Jays straight up for Jesus Sanchez in mid-February. He broke camp with the club and has appeared in all but two games so far. Loperfido has spent time at all three outfield spots, with the majority of his work coming in left field. He’s slashing .259/.333/.345 across 66 plate appearances.
Shortstop Nick Allen was also knocked out of that game against St. Louis. Isaac Paredes replaced him due to back spasms (h/t McTaggart). Paredes himself was then removed from the contest with a leg injury. Shay Whitcomb replaced him in the infield. Whitcomb started at third base on Saturday, with Paredes returning to the lineup at DH. Allen was not in the starting nine.
Allen joined the organization following a trade from the Braves in November. The glove-first veteran had made five starts since shortstop Jeremy Pena went down with a hamstring injury last weekend. Allen’s absence would lead to more time at shortstop for Carlos Correa, with Paredes slotting in at third. The Astros are already rolling with that configuration on a semi-regular basis. Paredes has also picked up starts at first and second base.
On the pitching side, left-hander Bennett Sousa is nearing a return. The reliever’s last obstacle in the minors is pitching on consecutive days, which he’s in line to do next week, per Kawahara. Sousa went down with an oblique strain near the end of MLB Spring Training.
After brief stints with the club in 2023 and 2024, Sousa emerged as a key member of the bullpen last season. He delivered a 2.84 ERA across a career-high 50 appearances. The lefty secured seven holds and four saves. Houston entered the 2026 campaign with Bryan King and Steven Okert as the left-handers in the bullpen. Once healthy, Sousa will give them another option from the left side, as will the eventual return of Josh Hader.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Astros Finalize Opening Day Roster
The Astros finalized their Opening Day roster, most notably announcing that shortstop Jeremy Pena will avoid a season-opening trip to the injured list. Catcher César Salazar was designated for assignment, clearing a 40-man roster spot for Christian Vázquez, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Sugar Land. Houston also selected right-hander Christian Roa‘s contract and opened a 40-man spot by placing lefty Brandon Walter on the 60-day IL while he recovers from UCL surgery. Houston also optioned outfielder Zach Cole to Triple-A, while prospect Brice Matthews makes the cut.
Outfielder Zach Dezenzo will open the season on the 10-day IL due to a right elbow sprain. Righty Ronel Blanco (recovering from Tommy John surgery), left-hander Josh Hader (biceps tendinitis), righty Enyel De Los Santos (right knee strain), lefty Bennett Sousa (oblique strain), right-hander Nate Pearson (recovering from elbow surgery) and right-hander Hayden Wesneski (recovering from Tommy John surgery) are all opening the year on the 15-day IL. Blanco and Wesneski will be 60-day IL candidates whenever Houston next needs a 40-man roster spot.
Pena’s status was up in the air after he suffered a fracture on the tip of his finger while fielding a grounder during an exhibition contest earlier this spring. He resumed hitting earlier this week, however, and has been deemed healthy enough to break camp with the club.
Vázquez’s selection to the big league roster was already known, as was the fact that Salazar wouldn’t make the team. Today’s DFA doesn’t necessarily mean that the ‘Stros won’t be able to find a trade partner. He can still be swapped out to another club within the next five days if another team is willing to put him on its 40-man roster.
Salazar, 30, has 67 MLB plate appearances to his name and has batted .232/.318/.268. He spent the bulk of the 2025 season in Triple-A, where he hit .213/.353/.353. He’s regarded as a solid defender but not the same extent as the veteran Vázquez, so Houston — as they’ve done in the past with Martin Maldonado — will opt for a plus defender as their backup catcher even if it means rostering one of the lightest-hitting players in the game.
Roa, 26, made his MLB debut with Miami last season and tossed three shutout innings. He’s a former Reds and Marlins farmhand who had a dominant spring with Houston after signing a minor league deal in December. He tossed 9 2/3 innings of one-run ball during Grapefruit League play and punched out 36% of his opponents without issuing a walk. Between that and last year’s 2.83 ERA in 60 1/3 Triple-A frames, he could be a nice under-the-radar pickup for the Astros.
Cole looked to be in strong position to make the club entering camp, but Houston reacquired Joey Loperfido to give them another lefty option in the outfield. Cole slashed .200/.340/.400 in 50 spring plate appearances, and the alarming contact issues that plagued him last year weren’t any better in March. After going down on strikes in 35% of his minor league plate appearances and 38.5% of his big league plate appearances in 2025, Cole punched out in 20 of his 50 turns at the plate this spring (40%).
Cole has obvious power and speed but will need to make more contact if he’s to carve out a a lasting role. Add in a handful of lefty opponents for Houston early in the season, and the right-handed-hitting Matthews will get the nod to begin the year. Matthews is a former first-round pick who slashed .250/.400/.417 this spring. He struggled in a brief MLB debut last year but hit .260/.371/.458 in Triple-A. While Matthews was drafted as a shortstop, the Astros’ glut of infielders has pushed him into outfield duty.
Astros’ Bennett Sousa To Begin Season On Injured List
Astros reliever Bennett Sousa will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, manager Joe Espada tells reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). The southpaw suffered a left oblique strain last week and is back in Houston for testing.
It certainly seems like it’ll be more than a minimal injured list stay. Espada declined to specify a timeline but noted it’d be “a while.” Sousa is shut down entirely until he’s able to throw without pain. He’ll join Josh Hader as key bullpen arms starting the season on the shelf.
Losing Sousa obviously isn’t as impactful as beginning the season without Hader, but it’s nevertheless a real blow to Espada’s relief corps. A waiver claim at the end of the ’23 campaign, Sousa quietly developed into a key bullpen piece last year. He fired 50 2/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball while striking out almost 30% of batters faced. By the second half, no Houston pitcher was being called upon in higher-leverage situations on average.
Sousa has struggled to stay healthy over the past few years. He missed the entire 2024 season due to thoracic outlet surgery. Sousa came back stronger than ever but went down at the end of August with elbow inflammation — ultimately ending his season. He had tossed three innings of one-run ball this spring.
Hader’s absence means Bryan Abreu will begin the season as the primary closer. Bryan King and Steven Okert still give the Astros a pair of quality left-handed setup arms. The bullpen is much less imposing from the right side, especially if they’re reluctant to use Abreu earlier in games.
Enyel De Los Santos, himself questionable for Opening Day after battling a right knee issue, could be set for important innings. Rule 5 pick Roddery Muñoz has had a fantastic Spring Training and should break camp. AJ Blubaugh and Kai-Wei Teng could pitch multiple innings if they make the team, while Ryan Weiss will either be part of a six-man rotation or in long relief. Minor league signee Christian Roa has pitched very well (8 2/3 innings of one-run ball with 12 strikeouts) and seems to have a clear path to an Opening Day roster spot.
Astros’ Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort Unlikely To Return In Regular Season
Astros relievers Bennett Sousa and Kaleb Ort aren’t likely to make it back to the big league roster before the end of the regular season, general manager Dana Brown revealed in a radio appearance on SportsTalk 790 AM this weekend (via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). A return during the postseason is possible for both pitchers. Sousa has been out since Aug. 20 due to a mild flexor/pronator strain. Ort landed on the 15-day IL this past Friday due to elbow inflammation.
Sousa, 30, emerged from relative obscurity with a breakout performance in 2025. The ‘Stros claimed him off waivers in Sept. 2023 and were already his fifth organization of the calendar year at that point. He pitched 6 1/3 shutout frames down the stretch, showing enough to hold a 40-man roster spot. Sousa didn’t pitch in the majors or minors in 2024, however, as he required surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome in early April.
Returning just over one year later, Sousa’s first appearance in the majors this season came on April 9. He opened the year with eight scoreless innings before finally yielding his first run, and he hasn’t really looked back. In 50 2/3 frames, Sousa has shown virtually no ill effect from the surgery. If anything, he’s better than ever.
Sousa has worked a career-high number of innings and is sitting on a sharp 2.84 ERA that’s supported by metrics like FIP (2.73) and SIERA (2.95). He’s set down a hearty 29.6% of his opponents on strikes, issued walks to just 7.5% of the batters he’s faced, and has allowed only 0.71 homers per nine innings pitched. Left-handers have posted a terrible .145/.191/.242 batting line against him, and while righties have been better than that — it’d be hard to be much worse — they’re still sporting a rather tepid .235/.300/.378 slash against him. Sousa was virtually untouchable through early July (1.83 ERA), but he struggled to a 4.96 mark with vastly worse command in 16 1/3 innings before hitting the IL last month.
Ort hasn’t been as effective, but his 4.89 ERA is arguably a bit misleading. He’s had two complete nightmare outings this season — one in which he was tagged for five runs in one-third of an inning and another one (his last before hitting the IL) where he surrendered four runs in two-thirds of an inning. Any pitcher will look better when you toss out his worst couple outings of the season, but Ort has a 3.20 ERA through 45 innings in his other 47 appearances.
Command has been one of two glaring flaws for Ort, evidenced both by his 13.9% walk rate and his 1.57 HR/9 mark. The other is his susceptibility to left-handed hitters. When facing fellow righties, he’s yielded only a .188/.311/.317 batting line. Left-handers have bludgeoned him at a .254/.342/.524 clip.
Ort hasn’t been a key piece of the Astros’ high-leverage corps. He’s typically worked in middle relief. Sousa has tallied seven holds and four saves, and his role had begun to increase after Josh Hader was lost for the remainder of the regular season in mid-August. Hader, Sousa and Ort all hope to be able to return in October, but their absence complicates Houston’s path to postseason ball.
The Astros are still very, very strong postseason favorites, but they’re hardly locks to win the division. Houston sits 2.5 games up on Seattle at the moment, and the two teams still have a three-game series against each other on the schedule. It’d take a considerable collapse to drop out of the playoff field entirely, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility (even if it’s a long shot).
A full contingent of relievers, obviously, would improve the Astros’ chances of hanging onto the division lead, but they’re instead trying to piece together the bulk of the relief corps. Bryan Abreu, Bryan King and Steven Okert have been strong basically all season, but the rest of the bullpen is filled out by veteran newcomers (Enyel De Los Santos, Craig Kimbrel), rookies (AJ Blubaugh, Jayden Murray, Logan VanWey) and struggling righty Lance McCullers Jr. (6.97 ERA in 50 1/3 innings). Both De Los Santos (0.69 ERA in 13 innings) and Kimbrel (6 2/3 scoreless) have been quite effective, though the latter has walked seven of the 27 batters he’s faced (25.9%).
Houston will keep trying to get by with that patchwork bullpen. Assuming they do make the postseason, it’d be a big boost if even one of those more seasoned arms — Hader or Sousa, in particular — could make it back to Joe Espada’s bullpen, but there’s no guarantee any of the three are back in the fold this year.
Astros Designate Shawn Dubin For Assignment
The Astros have designated right-hander Shawn Dubin for assignment, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Righty AJ Blubaugh has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move (KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reported earlier today that Blubaugh was on his way to the Astros’ active roster).
Dubin is out of minor league options, so Houston had to go the DFA route in order to remove him from its active roster. Dubin doesn’t have the service time or the past outright necessary to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, so chances are he’ll just remain in the Astros’ farm system if he clears waivers. A pitching-needy team might consider claiming Dubin off the waiver wire, though is out-of-options status will probably scare off a few clubs, plus his case for sticking on a big league roster isn’t helped by his brutal month of August.
Dubin had a 1.33 ERA over his first 20 1/3 innings of 2025, even if that standout ERA wasn’t quite supported by his secondary metrics. A forearm strain sent him to the 15-day injured list near the end of June, however, and since returning on August 12, Dubin simply hasn’t looked the same. He has been torched for 13 earned runs over five appearances and 5 1/3 innings since being activated from the IL, inflating his ERA up to 5.61 over 25 2/3 total frames.
A bout of shoulder inflammation during Spring Training already put Dubin on the IL to begin the season, and he then didn’t make his 2025 debut until May 11 since an ankle injury set back his recovery. Things seemed fine once he finally got onto the Astros’ mound, yet whether Dubin is just rusty or is still feeling some after-effects from his forearm issue, his recent performance has been too rough for Houston to ignore.
Selected in the 13th round of the 2018 draft, Dubin has spent his entire career in Houston’s organization, debuting in the Show with seven innings during the 2023 season. He then had a 4.17 ERA over 45 1/3 innings in 2024, getting a couple of spot starts but primarily working out of the bullpen. Dubin battled control problems last year but while his walk rate is vastly improved in 2025, his strikeout rate has dropped (from 23.7% to 18.9%).
The Astros’ bullpen has been strong for most of 2025, but the relief corps has hit some major roadblocks beyond just Dubin’s struggles. Star closer Josh Hader will miss at least the rest of the regular season due to a capsule sprain, and southpaw Bennett Sousa (already on the 15-day IL) is now also a question mark, as he’ll be shut down for the next two weeks while dealing with a flexor/pronator strain. Blubaugh is a rookie who has only nine MLB innings on his resume, but he’ll at least be a short-term fresh arm to act as a long man in the pen.
Astros Sign Craig Kimbrel
August 22: Houston finalized their one-year deal with Kimbrel this afternoon. They also activated Lance McCullers Jr. from the 15-day injured list to start tonight’s game in Baltimore. They cleared active roster space by optioning rookie Logan VanWey to Triple-A and placing southpaw Bennett Sousa on the 15-day injured list. Brandon Walter, who has been out for a month with elbow inflammation, was moved to the 60-day IL in the necessary 40-man move.
Sousa is dealing with elbow inflammation himself. Manager Joe Espada said Sousa reported discomfort after Tuesday’s appearance and has not progressed as hoped. He’s flying back to Houston for further evaluation while the team continues its road trip (link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic).
August 21: The Astros are in agreement with Craig Kimbrel on a major league contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The SportsMeter client was just granted his release from a minor league deal with Texas, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Houston will need to create space on both the active and 40-man rosters.
Kimbrel spent a little more than two months in Triple-A with Texas. He signed in June one day after electing free agency from the Braves. That followed a bizarre sequence in which Kimbrel’s initial team called him up for one day. The nine-time All-Star labored through a scoreless inning in his lone appearance. That remains his only MLB outing this season. Kimbrel has otherwise divided the year between the upper minors affiliates of Atlanta and Texas.
Between the two organizations, Kimbrel carries a flat 3.00 earned run average in 39 minor league innings. He has recorded an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage but has walked nearly 13% of batters faced. It’s a similar profile as Kimbrel has shown in the big leagues in recent seasons. He had a strikeout rate in the 31-34% range while issuing free passes between 10-13% of the time in both 2023 and ’24. Kimbrel remained effective with the Orioles in the first half of the ’24 season, but he melted down after the All-Star Break (20 earned runs in 17 innings) and has barely gotten an MLB look since then.
While the Triple-A results are solid, Kimbrel’s raw stuff hasn’t been as sharp this year. His fastball has been in the 92-93 MPH range in Triple-A; he averaged less than 92 on the heater in his only big league outing. He’d sat closer to 94 last year and was up to 96 as recently as 2023. He missed enough bats against minor league hitters to intrigue the Astros, whose bullpen has struggled of late.
Only the Rockies, Blue Jays and Nationals have a higher bullpen ERA than Houston does over the past month. The Astros lost Josh Hader for at least the remainder of the regular season to a capsule strain in his shoulder. Bryan Abreu is an elite back-end arm in his own right, and they have a strong left-handed trio of Steven Okert, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa. Abreu is essentially their only reliable righty reliever. Kimbrel’s command makes him a volatile bullpen piece as well, but he has more swing-and-miss upside than Enyel De Los Santos or Shawn Dubin provide in the middle innings.
The signing is expected to become official on Friday. Getting the deal done before September 1 means Kimbrel will be eligible for postseason play if the Astros qualify. He’ll have a little over five weeks of regular season action to convince the front office and coaching staff he’s worth carrying in October. Houston leads the Mariners by 1.5 games in the AL West. They’re 3.5 games clear of the Royals, the top team that is not currently in playoff position.
Image courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images.
Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins
Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, most clubs have a report date of February 12th or 13th. The Cubs and Dodgers are a bit earlier than most, on the 9th and 11th, respectively. That’s due to the fact that those clubs are heading to Tokyo, with exhibition games in mid-March, followed by regular season games against each other on March 18th and 19th. All the other teams have Opening Day scheduled for March 27th.
It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.
There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, as well as Nick Pivetta, Andrew Heaney, David Robertson, Randal Grichuk, Kenley Jansen, Harrison Bader, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana and many more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.
Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon.
Angels: Robert Stephenson
Stephenson underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery with internal brace in late April. Given the 14-plus months required to recovery from such a procedure, he’s not likely to be ready in the early parts of the 2025 season.
Astros: Cristian Javier, J.P. France, Bennett Sousa
Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is targeting a return in the second half of 2025. France is recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to return in July. Sousa’s timeline is less clear but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April. Other possibilities include Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., who are expected to start the season on the IL but returning in April or May still seems possible.
Athletics: Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk
Medina underwent Tommy John surgery in August and Waldichuk in May. Medina might miss the entire season while Waldichuk is likely to miss a few months at least.
Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, Alek Manoah
The Jays grabbed Bastardo from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, even though he had Tommy John surgery in June. Manoah also had Tommy John around that time and is hoping to be back by August.
Braves: Joe Jiménez
Jimenez had knee surgery in November with a timeline of eight to twelve months, so he might miss the entire season. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are also possibilities, though those will be more borderline. Strider had internal brace surgery in April, so returning in May is somewhat possible. Acuña is recovering from a torn ACL last year and it’s possible he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. Given how important both of those players are, Atlanta probably won’t put them on the 60-day IL unless it’s 100% certain that they can’t come back in the first 60 days of the season.
Brewers: Robert Gasser
Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and will be looking at a late 2025 return even in a best-case scenario.
Diamondbacks: Kyle Nelson
Nelson’s timeline is unclear, but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in May and missed the remainder of the 2024 season.
Dodgers: Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan
Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October that will cause him to miss the entire year. Graterol also underwent shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until the second half of 2025. Each of Ryan, Hurt and Sheehan required Tommy John surgery in 2024: Ryan in August, Hurt in July and Sheehan in May.
Guardians: Sam Hentges, David Fry, Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan
Hentges required shoulder surgery in September, with an expected recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. Fry underwent UCL surgery in November with a more fluid timeline. He won’t be able to throw at all in 2025 but could be cleared for designated hitter action six to eight months from that surgery. Bieber is perhaps a borderline case, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Given his importance, the Guards may not transfer him to the 60-day IL until it’s assured that he won’t be back in the first 60 days of the season. Stephan underwent Tommy John surgery in March and perhaps has a chance to avoid the 60-day IL, depending on his progression.
Mariners: Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar
Brash underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Given the typical 14-month recovery timeline from that procedure, he would be looking at a midsummer return. However, it was reported in November that he’s ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of April. That’s an optimistic timeline but the Mariners will probably hold off moving him to the 60-day IL until the door is closed to an early return. Kowar underwent Tommy John in March, so an early return in 2025 is possible for him, depending on how his recovery is going.
Marlins: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez
Garrett just underwent UCL surgery last month and is going to miss the entire 2025 season. Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will miss at least part of the beginning of the 2025 campaign.
Mets: Christian Scott
Scott required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in September and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.
Nationals: Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson
Gray required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in July, meaning he’ll miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season. Thompson required Tommy John surgery in March, so he has a better chance to make an early-season return if his recovery is going well.
Orioles: Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells
Bradish and Wells each required UCL surgery in June, so they’re both slated to miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.
Padres: Joe Musgrove
Musgrove had Tommy John surgery in October and will therefore miss the entire 2025 season. However, the Padres only have 36 guys on their 40-man roster at the moment, so they’ll need to fill those spots before moving Musgrove to the 60-day IL.
Pirates: Dauri Moreta
Moreta required UCL surgery in March, so an early-season return is possible if his rehab is going well, though he could end up on the 60-day if the club goes easy with his ramp-up or he suffers any kind of setback.
Rangers: Josh Sborz
Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss the first two to three months of the upcoming season.
Rays: Nate Lavender, Ha-Seong Kim
The Rays took Lavender from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, even though he had Tommy John in May and will miss the start of the season. Kim’s status is more up in the air after he had shoulder surgery in October. Various reports have suggested he could return anywhere from April to July. The Rays made a sizable investment in Kim, their largest ever for a position player, so they probably won’t shelve him until they get more clarity on his status.
Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Murphy
Sandoval had internal brace surgery in June of last year and should miss the first half of the season. Whitlock had the same surgery in May, so he could have a bit of a better chance to return in the first 60 days of the season. Murphy underwent a fully Tommy John surgery in April and will certainly miss the beginning of the upcoming season. Another possibility is Lucas Giolito, who had internal brace surgery in March, though he expects to be ready by Opening Day.
Reds: Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson
Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery in October and Williamson in September, so both are likely slated to miss the entire 2025 season.
Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long
Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April. On top of that, he underwent left hip labral repair surgery in July, with the club hoping to address both issues at the same time. It seems likely that he’ll miss some of the early 2025 schedule, but his IL placement will depend on how he’s been progressing.
White Sox: Jesse Scholtens
Scholtens underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend on how he’s progressed since then and when the White Sox expect him back.
Yankees: Jonathan Loáisiga
Loáisiga underwent internal brace surgery in April, so he could potentially be back on the mound early in the 2025 season. It was reported in December that the Yankees are expecting him to be in the bullpen by late April or early May, so he’ll only end up on the 60-day IL if he suffers a bit of a setback.
Astros Acquire Jacob Amaya From Marlins
The Astros have acquired infielder Jacob Amaya from the Marlins, per The Athletic’s Chandler Rome. In return, Rome adds that the Marlins will receive cash considerations and minor league right-hander Valente Bellozo. Amaya had been designated for assignment by the Marlins earlier this week. Per Rome, Houston has optioned Amaya to Triple-A and placed left-hander Bennett Sousa on the 60-day injured list to make room for the infielder on their 40-man roster.
Amaya, 25, was an eleventh-round pick by the Dodgers in the 2017 draft but made his big league debut with Miami last year after L.A. shipped him to the Marlins in exchange for veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas prior to the 2023 campaign. Amaya’s final season with the Dodgers saw him slash a respectable .261/.369/.427 in 133 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels, but he took a bit of a step back upon joining the Marlins last year.
In 128 games with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville, Amaya hit just .252/.345/.407 (89 wRC+) during his age-24 season while primarily playing shortstop. Meanwhile, his four-game cup of coffee in the majors left something to be desired as he went 2-for-9 with no walks or extra base hits. On the other hand, his struggles in the majors came in an extremely small sample while his solid glove at shortstop helped to carry his subpar slash line in the minors.
Amaya entered the offseason looking like he could contribute in the big leagues for the Marlins at some point this year, though the additions of Tim Anderson and Vidal Brujan this winter left him largely blocked entering the season. After the youngster struggled at the plate both in camp this spring and in the first games of his return to Jacksonville, the club decided to move on by designating Amaya for assignment to make room for infielder Emmanuel Rivera on the 40-man roster.
Now, Amaya will get a chance to re-establish himself in an Astros organization with minimal infield depth in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Houston has Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena locked into regular roles up the middle with Mauricio Dubon as their top option off the bench, though Amaya could compete with the likes of Grae Kessinger and David Hensley for a role on the club’s bench as a reserve infielder at some point this season.
To land Amaya, the Astros are giving up Bellozo, who made his pro debut with the club out of Mexico back in 2018. The right-hander split the 2023 campaign between the High-A and Double-A levels, struggling to a 5.55 ERA in 110 1/3 innings despite a solid 22.4% strikeout rate against a strong 6.8% walk rate. Bellozo’s results took a turn for the better late in the season, as he pitched to a 1.72 ERA in his final four appearances last season. He’ll look to build on that late-season hot stretch this season in what figures to be a return to the Double-A level.