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Astros Activate Jose Altuve

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The Astros have activated second baseman Jose Altuve from the 10-day injured list and optioned right-hander Humberto Castellanos, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic tweets. Altuve’s batting second in the Astros’ lineup against the Rangers on Tuesday.

Altuve went on the IL on Sept. 5 with a sprained right knee, continuing a trend of recent problems in the joint for the former MVP. He also underwent surgery on that knee after the 2018 season. Of course, the problems don’t seem nearly as serious this time, as Altuve is back after spending the minimum amount of time on the shelf.

The hope for Houston, which is a disappointing 23-24 and clinging to a playoff spot, is that Altuve will serve as a key late-season reinforcement. Altuve, for his part, is surely trying to end the season with a flourish after struggling before his absence. The 30-year-old’s a five-time .300 hitter and a three-time 2o-home run man, but he has slashed just .224/.284/.322 with three homers through 155 plate appearances this season. The Astros turned to Aledmys Diaz and Jack Mayfield at the keystone when Altuve was out, but they’ve also logged underwhelming production this year.

Latest On Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers Jr.

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With nine losses in their past 11 games, the reigning American League champion Astros have fallen under .500 (23-24) and find themselves fighting for their playoff lives. The Astros have gone almost the whole year without 2019 AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, which certainly hasn’t helped matters, but they’re hoping to get him back for a start in the final week of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com relays.

Verlander, who’s recovering from a forearm strain, threw 55-60 pitches Saturday and will soon face live hitters, which is a “very, very positive sign,” according to manager Dusty Baker.

In Baker’s estimation, no matter how late in the campaign, a Verlander return would be like a major late-season acquisition. Baker’s not wrong in that regard, as Verlander has long been an elite starter and could help decide whether the Astros make the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season or sit home in the fall.

Without Verlander, who has only taken the mound once (on July 24), the Astros’ formerly elite rotation has been a middle-of-the-pack unit. Zack Greinke and Framber Valdez have posted far better field-independent pitching numbers than ERAs; on the other hand, the opposite has been true for Cristian Javier; Jose Urquidy has only made two starts; and Lance McCullers Jr. logged a 5.79 ERA before going on the injured list Sept. 6 with neck problems. Like Verlander, though, McCullers is on his way back, per McTaggart, who writes that he’ll return to the team’s rotation Wednesday.

Lance McCullers Jr. To Return On Wednesday

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  • Speaking of returning starters, the Astros listed Lance McCullers Jr. as the starter for Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, indicating that the right-hander’s time on the injured list is nearing an end.  McCullers hit the 10-day IL on September 6 due to neck nerve irritation, a rather concerning-sounding issue that left a return date up in the air.  After taking an anti-inflammatory injection, however, McCullers now seems on track to get back on the mound after only a minimal IL stint.  The former first-rounder has a 5.79 ERA over eight starts and 37 1/3 innings this season, though the Astros will surely welcome whatever McCullers can contribute to a rotation mix that has managed middle-of-the-pack numbers despite multiple injuries.

Latest On Altuve, Taylor

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  • The Astros have been hit hard by injuries this season, but two notable reinforcements could be on the way back.  Jose Altuve took some swings in the batting cage yesterday and left-hander Blake Taylor could begin throwing as early as today, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome).  Altuve was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee sprain on September 5, while Taylor hit the IL two days later with soreness in his throwing elbow.  Should both continue to recover with no setbacks, the players could be activated from the injured list for the Astros’ upcoming series against the Rangers, with Altuve eligible for activation tomorrow (a Houston off-day) and Taylor on Wednesday.

Latest On Justin Verlander

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This season hasn’t gone as hoped for the reigning American League champion Astros, who have started 22-21 while dealing with several notable injuries. They have gone nearly the entire campaign without 2019 AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, who made one start in July and has been out since with a forearm strain, but it seems there is hope the right-hander will return this year. Manager Dusty Baker told Jake Kaplan of The Athletic and other reporters that Verlander was in line for a 50- to 55-pitch bullpen session Wednesday.

It remains to be seen whether Verlander will get through the session without setbacks, but it’s nonetheless encouraging that he has progressed to this point. Should he get through it unscathed, Verlander could be close to rejoining the Astros, who would make the playoffs if the season ended now.

Thankfully for Verlander-less Houston, Framber Valdez has established himself as a solid starter this year, which has helped complement Zack Greinke in their staff and make up for the loss of Verlander to a degree. Rookie Cristian Javier has stopped runs at a good rate (3.46 ERA over 41 2/3 innings), meanwhile, but his peripherals aren’t as encouraging. And though the Astros did just get back Jose Urquidy back from the injured list, they had to place Lance McCullers Jr. on the IL on Sept. 6 with neck issues. So, while the Astros would be thrilled to welcome a healthy and effective Verlander back under any circumstance, he may be especially helpful in the next few weeks.

Lance McCullers Jr. Placed On 10-Day Injured List

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TODAY: The procedure Baker mentioned was “a mild anti-inflammatory injection to alleviate nerve irritation in [McCullers’] neck,” according to Rome.

SEPT. 8: McCullers “had some procedure done” on his neck, manager Dusty Baker announced (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The surgery repaired “95 to 98 percent of whatever discomfort he was feeling,” according to Baker, though it’s still unknown when McCullers will return.

SEPT. 6: The Astros have placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 10-day injured list due to neck nerve irritation, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Beyond the requisite 10 days on the IL, a timeline for McCullers’s return is unclear. Southpaw Cionel Perez was recalled from the taxi squad to join the active roster.

McCullers pitched Friday against the Angels, failing to record an out and exiting the game after facing just five batters. He walked three Angels hitters and conceded three runs, but stated after the game that his struggles weren’t due to injury.

While we don’t know precisely how long the Astros expect McCullers to be shelved, any injury to an already-thin Houston pitching staff is a significant one. The team has been without ace Justin Verlander for practically the entire season, and Jose Urquidy has only just returned from a bout with COVID-19. As such, Houston has had to rely on inexperienced starters like Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez, and Brandon Bielak.

McCullers, for his part, has had an up-and-down campaign in his return from Tommy John surgery, which cost him all of last year. There’s been a mix of good starts and bad starts, but the numbers indicate for the most part that the 26-year-old is not quite back to the form that earned him an All-Star nod in 2017.

While he’s been known as a strikeout pitcher for his entire career, he’s averaging only 7.7 K/9 in 2020.  McCullers’ sinker velocity is down ever so slightly from previous years, but the more glaring disparity is in his sinker’s spin rate, which has taken a considerable hit from where it was two years ago. That, along with decreased curveball usage (at 35%, he’s throwing the curveball less than ever), has made it more difficult to generate whiffs.

Astros Add 2 To Player Pool

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  • The Astros have added shortstop Jeremy Pena and catcher Korey Lee to their 60-man player pool, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Both players (Pena at No. 6, Lee No. 7) rank among the Astros’ best prospects at MLB.com. The 22-year-old Pena was a third-round pick of the Astros in 2018 who batted .317/.378/.467 in his first 185 plate appearances at High-A last season. Lee, 22, joined the Astros as the 32nd selection in the 2019 draft. After that, Lee hit .268/.359/.371 over 259 PA during his low-A debut.

Alex Bregman Nearing Return; Astros Place Taylor, Devenski On IL

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The Astros are likely to activate star third baseman Alex Bregman from the injured list on Tuesday, manager Dusty Baker told Jake Kaplan of The Athletic and other reporters.

Houston has gone without Bregman since he suffered a strained right hamstring on Aug. 19, temporarily depriving the club of one of baseball’s greatest talents. Bregman’s production has dipped a bit compared to the previous couple seasons, but his output has still been outstanding this season. The 26-year-old slashed .272/.374/.500 (139 wRC+) with four home runs in 107 plate appearances before hitting the IL. The Astros have since turned to Abraham Toro, Jack Mayfield and Aledmys Diaz at the hot corner, but those three have registered terrible numbers this season. Plus, having dropped four straight to fall to 21-19, the Astros as a whole have slumped of late, so they’ll be all the more pleased to welcome Bregman back.

Meantime, the news isn’t nearly as positive for Houston’s pitching staff, which lost left-hander Blake Taylor and righty Chris Devenski to the IL with elbow problems on Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The Astros will use righties Chase De Jong and Humberto Castellanos to take their open roster spots.

The rookie Taylor, 25, has been a bright spot for an Astros relief corps that has dealt with injuries to the likes of Roberto Osuna and Brad Peacock, among others. In his first 17 major league frames, Taylor has posted a 2.12 ERA/4.09 FIP with 7.94 K/9 and a 51.1 percent groundball rate, though he has walked 5.82 batters per nine. Devenski, formerly a key cog for Houston’s bullpen, has been battling elbow issues throughout the season. He made two appearances in July, missed all of August and then totaled another two appearances this month (on Sept. 5 and 6), in which he combined for 1 2/3 innings of three-run ball, before going back to the IL.

Justin Verlander Begins Throwing Off Mound

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  • Justin Verlander has begun throwing off a mound, Astros GM James Click said today during a pregame interview with Astros Radio (hat tip to The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan).  A forearm strain has kept Verlander sidelined for all but one start of the 2020 season, though his latest rehab update provides some hope that Verlander could potentially still return at some point in the regular season or postseason.

Austin Pruitt Out For Season After Elbow Surgery

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When the Houston Astros acquired Austin Pruitt from the Rays this past January, they thought they were building on their pitching depth with a veteran swingman who could plug the gaps in the rotation or bullpen as needed in 2020. To no fault of Pruitt or the Astros, things haven’t worked out as planned. The 31-year-old Pruitt hasn’t thrown a pitch for Houston this season, and he’s not going to. Pruitt underwent surgery to fix a hairline fracture in his right elbow on Wednesday. He’ll be out for the remainder of the season, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Pruitt may also miss the beginning of 2021 as he recovers.

The Astros’ acquisition of Pruitt came at a funny time in their history, as GM Jeff Luhnow would be fired just four days later. Little more than a month after that, current GM James Click would follow Pruitt to the Astros to take over as general manager. There may be slight pangs of regret surrounding this deal, then, for Click, who would have been part of the team that sent Pruitt to the Astros in exchange for outfielder Cal Stevenson and right-hander Peyton Battenfield. Stevenson originally came to the Astros from the Blue Jays as part of the return for Aaron Sanchez, while Battenfield was a ninth-round pick in the 2019 draft.

In parts of three seasons with the Rays, Pruitt logged 199 2/3 innings across 57 relief appearances and 10 starts. The Houston native owns a 4.87 ERA/4.17 FIP for his career with a modest 6.6 K/9 versus 2.3 BB/9. He was up-and-down between Triple-A and the majors each season since making his debut as a 27-year-old in 2017.

The Astros could have used Pruitt as they’ve struggled at times to piece together the arms necessary to build a rotation. Their staff is middling overall in terms of production, ranking 16th in the majors by fWAR, 9th by ERA, and 15th by FIP. Beyond Pruitt, Jose Urquidy has yet to throw a pitch after landing on the COVID-19 injured list, and ace Justin Verlander made just one start before a strained forearm sent him to the IL. Still, Houston happened to have another ace on hand in Zack Greinke, Framber Valdez has broken out and claimed a rotation spot with a 2.58 ERA/2.59 FIP over 6 starts, and rookie Cristian Javier has more than held his own at the back end. The Astros are firmly in playoff position and just 2 games behind the division-leading Athletics.

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