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Tucupita Marcano Under Investigation For Betting On Baseball

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Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is under investigation by Major League Baseball for betting on baseball while a member of the Pirates, according to a report from Jared Diamond and Lindsey Adler of The Wall Street Journal. Marcano is facing a lifetime ban. Four other players are under investigation for betting on baseball while in the minor leagues as well, though the identities of those others are not known. The report adds that there’s no evidence at this point of games being manipulated.

Marcano, 24, was placed on the injured list by the Pirates in July of last year and eventually underwent surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The Padres claimed him off waivers in November and he has been on the injured list for all of 2024 so far, still recovering from that surgery.

Per the report from Diamond and Adler, Marcano “has been accused of betting on games involving the Pittsburgh Pirates last season while he was on the injured list for that team.” Per the report, the league and the MLB Players’ Association are still discussing Marcano’s ultimate punishment but, as mentioned, a lifetime ban is on the table. Marcano, the league and the union all declined to comment for the piece, though the Padres released a statement:

“We are aware of an active investigation by Major League Baseball regarding a matter that occurred when the player in question was a member of another organization and not affiliated with the San Diego Padres. We will not have any further comment until the investigative process has been completed.”

Brian Warecki, Pirates’ senior vice president of Communications, also issued a statement, relayed by Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X. “We are aware of the matter that’s under investigation and are fully cooperating. We will refrain from further comment at this time.”

As relayed by the WSJ piece, the league’s gambling policy is prominently displayed in all clubhouses. Baseball players are legally allowed to bet on other sports but not on baseball. A player betting on teams other than his own faces a one-year suspension but betting on a game involving his own team results in a lifetime ban.

Gambling scandals have been around almost as long as baseball itself. Most famously, the “Black Sox Scandal” saw eight members of the 1919 White Sox were banned for life after being accused of taking bribes from gamblers to throw that year’s World Series. MLB’s all-time hits leader Pete Rose also received a lifetime ban in 1989 after accusations that he gambled on the Reds during his time as a player and manager.

More recently, gambling scandals have come back into the spotlight, thanks to a 2018 Supreme Court decision that opened the door for states to legalize the practice. Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, is in the process of pleading guilty to bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return in relation to a gambling scandal. To this point, the evidence of that case suggests he didn’t bet on baseball. However, he did make bets with an illegal bookmaker in California, where sports betting is still illegal. He is alleged to have stolen millions of dollars from an account in Ohtani’s name in order to pay off his debts. David Fletcher of the Braves is also under investigation for placing bets with the same bookmaker as Mizuhara, though Fletcher isn’t accused of placing bets on baseball either. Gambling has also been an issue in other sports, with Jontay Porter receiving a ban from the NBA for gambling violations while playing for the Raptors.

Mizuhara and Fletcher both bet on other sports in a state where it’s illegal, while Mizuhara is also alleged to have committed several financial crimes. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred discussed those situations last month and said the league would be taking a hands-off approach until the legal process played out.

The Marcano situation would appear to be a different matter. If the accusations are proven to be true and he did indeed bet on the Pirates while a member of the team, it would appear to be a straightforward case where a lifetime ban will be the result. Further details on this case, and the cases of the other four players, will undoubtedly be forthcoming in the future.

Dana Brown: “Don’t See Any Scenario” Where Astros Sell At Deadline

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The Astros came back to beat the Cardinals tonight. They’re now 27-34, seven games below .500 and as many back of the Mariners in the AL West. Houston has yet to fire on all cylinders as they seek an eighth straight trip to the AL Championship Series; they’ve yet to climb above .500 after starting the season with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees.

Even as the team has floundered, general manager Dana Brown has painted an optimistic picture in his public comments. Brown told the MLB Network on May 7 that he “couldn’t envision” selling at the deadline. He doubled down on that assertion before tonight’s win. “I don’t see any scenario where we’re sellers,” the GM told the Houston beat (link via Chandler Rome of the Athletic). “I think we’re going to be buyers.”

On the one hand, it’s not surprising that Brown reiterated the stance he expressed a month ago. Even if the front office were privately beginning to consider selling scenarios, it’s far enough from the deadline that Brown is unlikely to publicly declare as much. Houston has a veteran roster that certainly entered the season with championship aspirations. That said, the Astros haven’t done much to change their fortunes in the four weeks since Brown’s last declaration.

Houston held a 12-22 record heading into play on May 7, placing them seven games back in the division. They’ve been better over the past month, going 15-12 over their last 27 contests, but it hasn’t been the kind of resounding play they’ll need to eventually pull out from the hole they dug with a terrible April. Houston’s division deficit hasn’t changed in the last four weeks (though Seattle has jumped the Rangers for the top spot).

The upcoming few weeks could offer that opportunity. Houston has series against the Angels, White Sox, Rockies and Mets in June. They also have two more against St. Louis and three games apiece with the Giants, Tigers and Orioles. Asked whether a poor performance over the next six to eight weeks could force the Astros to sell, Brown said the team “would have to really fall apart” to change direction. “The pitching would have to be struggling. The hitters would have to be struggling. If there’s any sign of hope, I can’t see us doing it,” he added.

To that end, Brown said the front office would like to bring in another bat, preferably a left-handed hitter. Houston is down to Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton as lefty hitters on the MLB roster. Backup catcher Victor Caratini is a switch-hitter, while lefty-swinging rookie Joey Loperfido was optioned to Triple-A when José Abreu returned to the MLB roster last week.

Brown’s comments came before Tucker left this evening’s contest when he fouled a ball off his right shin. The star right fielder, who is playing at an MVP level, was on crutches in the clubhouse after the game (noted on X by Adam Spolane of SportsRadio 610). Tucker fortunately told reporters that x-rays came back negative, but that’ll be a situation worth monitoring over the next few days.

First base still stands as the biggest question mark in the Houston lineup. Abreu has only collected three hits in six games since being recalled. His season batting line sits at .115/.170/.161 in 94 plate appearances. Singleton has drawn enough walks to be a roughly average hitter against right-handed pitching. That’s far superior to Abreu’s work but still not imposing at a bat-first position.

The Astros’ biggest need is arguably on the other side of the ball, however. Houston’s rotation has been hit hard by injury and poor performance from their back-end starters. While the club could welcome Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia back midseason, they’re in danger of losing José Urquidy for the year. Cristian Javier’s status remains up in the air as he evaluates treatment options for forearm discomfort. Depth starter J.P. France is on the Triple-A injured list with a shoulder concern.

Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Ronel Blanco, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti make up Houston’s current rotation. The latter two righties have had particularly rough seasons. Arrighetti has allowed nearly six earned runs per nine through his first nine MLB starts. Brown’s ERA sits narrowly above 6.00. Both pitchers (especially Brown) have looked better in May after being rocked in the season’s first month, but the Astros have very few options behind them if anyone else suffers an injury. Left-hander Eric Lauer is their only upper minors starter with much MLB experience.

Tony Scott Passes Away

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Former major league player and coach Tony Scott recently passed away, per various sources, including Brent Maguire of MLB.com. Scott was 72 years old. A cause of death was not provided.

Scott was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1951. He attended Withrow High School in Cincinnati and the Montreal Expos selected him out of that school in the 71st round of the 1969 draft. He eventually made it to the big leagues with the Expos in 1973, the first of 11 major league seasons he would play in as a speed-and-defense outfielder.

That first season saw him get into 11 games but mostly as a pinch runner or defensive replacement, as he only stepped to the plate once. It was fairly similar in 1974, as he got into 19 contests but only receive eight plate appearances.

He finally got somewhat regular playing time in 1975, getting 159 trips to the plate over 92 games for Montreal that year. He stole five bases but was caught six times and hit just .182/.258/.238. He was kept in the minors in 1976 but performed well for Triple-A Denver, slashing .311/.361/.503 while stealing 18 bases in 24 tries.

In November of that year, he was traded to the Cardinals alongside Steve Dunning and Pat Scanlon, with Bill Greif, Sam Mejías and Ángel Torres going the other way. Scott got fairly regular playing time in St. Louis, getting into 487 games during the 1977-80 seasons. He hit .258/.313/.343 in his 1,663 plate appearances and also swiped 77 bags.

Midway through the 1981 campaign, the Cards traded him to the Astros for Joaquín Andújar. Scott played a fairly similar role with the Astros for a few years before being released in 1984. He returned to his original organization by signing with the Expos in June of that year, spending a couple of months with them in what eventually turned out to be his final stint as a major league player. He finished his playing career with 991 games played and 699 hits, including 17 home runs. He batted .249 and stole 125 bases.

After his playing career ended, Scott pivoted to coaching. He worked as a minor league coach in the Phillies’ system from 1989 to 2000 and was a part of the major league coaching staff in 2000 and 2001.

We at MLBTR send our condolences to Scott’s family, friends, former teammates and coaches and all those mourning him at this time.

Brewers Sending Robert Gasser For Evaluation With Elbow Soreness

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The Brewers are sending Robert Gasser for evaluation after the rookie left-hander reported “some tightness, soreness” coming out of his start on Saturday, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (X link via MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand). The Brewers have not placed him on the injured list at this point.

Gasser joined the Milwaukee rotation three weeks ago. He has pitched very well in his first five big league starts, turning in a 2.57 ERA through 28 innings. While Gasser only has 16 strikeouts (a subpar 14% rate), he has shown impeccable control. The Houston product has only issued one walk, though he has hit three batters.

Acquired from the Padres as part of the 2022 Josh Hader return, Gasser already looks like a key piece of a Milwaukee rotation that has been hit hard by injury. The Brewers knew they’d be without Brandon Woodruff all season, but they’ve lost Wade Miley, DL Hall, Jakob Junis and Joe Ross to the injured list since the year began. Gasser has stepped in alongside Bryse Wilson and Colin Rea as part of a patchwork rotation behind Freddy Peralta.

Milwaukee has overcome that spotty rotation to run a 36-24 record through their first 60 games. They’ve built a 6.5 game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central. Losing Gasser, if testing reveals any kind of injury, would represent another hurdle, though the Brewers could welcome back a few of their currently injured hurlers.

Junis is headed to Triple-A Nashville to begin a rehab assignment, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Signed to a $7MM free agent deal, Junis has been limited to one start thus far. The right-hander went on the injured list with a shoulder impingement during the first week of April. His rehab process was slightly delayed when he was struck in the head by an errant ball during batting practice, but he fortunately avoided any especially serious injuries. Murphy has previously indicated that Junis could return in a multi-inning relief role after opening the year in the rotation.

Ross, who went on the IL on May 21 with a lower back strain, could also return in the coming weeks. Rosiak notes that the right-hander is set to throw a bullpen session this weekend. The 31-year-old has started nine games, pitching to a 4.50 ERA over 42 innings.

Padres To Select Adam Mazur

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The Padres are promoting pitching prospect Adam Mazur, as first reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray (on X). The right-hander is listed as the probable starter for tomorrow evening’s matchup with the Angels.

San Diego selected Mazur in the second round of the 2022 draft. The University of Iowa product worked to a 2.81 ERA in 96 innings during his first professional season. Baseball America ranked the Saint Paul native as the #6 prospect in the organization over the winter. BA’s offseason scouting report credited Mazur with a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider to lead a four-pitch mix. The outlet also lauded his plus-plus (70-grade) control, no surprise for a pitcher who walked a minuscule 4.3% of batters faced a year ago.

The Padres started Mazur at Double-A San Antonio this year. He breezed past the level, working to a 1.95 ERA with a near-27% strikeout rate while issuing only five walks in his first six starts. He’s had a tougher time since being promoted to Triple-A El Paso last month. Over four appearances in the Pacific Coast League, he has been tagged for 15 runs in 19 innings. Mazur has given up four homers in a tough setting for pitchers, but he has fanned 18 opponents (22.8%) against four walks (5.1%).

Despite Mazur’s lack of Triple-A experience, he’ll get his first look at major league hitters in Anaheim. The Padres lost both Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish to the injured list over the weekend. That left a pair of vacancies behind Michael King, Dylan Cease and Matt Waldron. San Diego recalled right-hander Randy Vásquez for a start against the Royals on Saturday. Mazur will get at least one start and could take a couple turns through the rotation. The Padres don’t have an off day until June 13.

San Diego’s 40-man roster is full. They’ll need to make a corresponding move to select Mazur’s contract, though that’ll likely be a procedural transaction. Glenn Otto and Tucupita Marcano have been on the injured list all season and could be moved to the 60-day IL without impacting their eligibility to return. (Marcano is reportedly under MLB investigation for allegedly placing bets on baseball last year.) The Padres will need to option a pitcher as a corresponding active roster move once they officially call Mazur up.

KBO Infielder Hyeseong Kim Hires CAA Ahead Of Expected Posting For MLB Teams

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Infielder Hyeseong Kim, who stars for the Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes, has hired CAA Baseball to represent him ahead of his expected move to Major League Baseball in the upcoming offseason, reports Jeeho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. (Kim’s name is commonly written as Kim Hye-Seong or Hye-Seong Kim, but Yoo further notes via X that CAA specifically informed him the infielder will go by Hyeseong Kim if he indeed moves to North American ball.)

Kim, who’ll turn 26 next January, is old enough and has enough experience in a major foreign league to be considered a “professional” under Major League Baseball’s international standards. He’ll be exempt from international amateur free-agent bonus pools and thus able to sign a major league contract for any length and dollar amount with an interested team.

The former double-play partner of current Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim, the younger Kim is  a lifetime .301/.361/.398 hitter in 876 games with the KBO’s Heroes. One of the primary knocks on his MLB outlook throughout his pro career has been a lack of power, but he’s begun to change that narrative in his age-25 campaign. The lefty-swinging Kim has appeared in 50 games and taken 224 plate appearances this year but has already set a new career-high with eight home runs. (He’d previously hit seven homers in two different seasons, including 2023.) Overall, Kim is slashing .309/.366/.471 this season — his fourth consecutive season with a .300 or better average.

Kim has also picked up seven doubles and a triple this season in addition to going 15-for-16 in stolen bases. The 6.7% walk rate Kim has posted so far in 2024 is a career-low — perhaps a sign of a more aggressive approach as he tries to showcase for MLB teams, speculatively speaking — but his minuscule 9.8% strikeout rate is also the lowest of his career. Kim has dropped his strikeout rate in every season of his pro career, beginning with a 25.2% mark back in 2018. He’s now seen as a hitter with plus contact skills, well above-average speed — he’s 195-for-226 (86.3%) in career stolen base attempts — and a strong glove in the middle infield.

Prior to the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser ranked Kim ninth among the top-ten MLB prospects for fans to track (landing behind current big leaguers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jung Hoo Lee and Yariel Rodriguez). Glaser called Kim a plus defender at second base (and a capable defender at short) with a “preternatural feel for contact,” good pitch recognition and the ability to catch up to good velocity. At the very least, he could profile as a utilityman with high-end speed and contact skills, though it should come as little surprise if there are clubs who view him as a potential regular at second base. Given his age, Kim should find big league interest — particularly if he can continue his newfound power output.

CAA most famously represents Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani but is also one of the industry’s largest firms, representing dozens of clients, including high-profile names like Willy Adames, Sandy Alcantara, Corbin Carroll, Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, Jon Gray, Josh Hader, J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner — among many others (as can be seen in MLBTR’s Agency Database).

Max Muncy Shut Down Following Setback

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Dodgers slugger Max Muncy has been out since mid-May due to an oblique strain but doesn’t sound closer to returning than he was at the time of his original placement on the injured list. Muncy told the Dodgers beat yesterday that he recently experienced a setback in his rehab when he felt pain in his ribcage while swinging a bat (X link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). He’s currently shut down from all baseball activity, and there’s no timetable for his return.

Muncy, 33, got out to a typical start in 2024, hitting for a low average that was largely offset by a glut of walks and plenty of extra-base hits. He’s batting .223/.323/.475 with nine homers and eight doubles through 167 trips to the plate this season — about 24% better than league-average production, by measure of wRC+. The slugger’s 12.6% walk rate is four percentage points north of average but nevertheless represents a career-low mark (excepting his 2015 season, when he received only 112 plate appearances in his initial call to the big leagues). Muncy’s 29.9% strikeout rate, meanwhile, is the highest of his career.

In Muncy’s absence, utilityman Enrique Hernandez has seen the bulk of the workload at third base. The offensive struggles that plagued Hernandez early in the season haven’t yet subsided, however. He’s hitting .171/.209/.244 since Muncy landed on the 10-day IL and just .198/.255/.278 on the season overall. Veterans Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor have both seen fleeting time at the hot corner as well. The Dodgers have had plenty of struggles from the bottom-third of their lineup throughout the season even without Muncy’s injury, and dedicating regular time to Hernandez in lieu of Muncy hasn’t helped matters.

Poor production from the lower portion of the lineup is a flaw of this Dodgers club but hasn’t prevented the team from building a comfortable lead in the National League West. Buoyed by massive offensive performances from the star-studded top of the lineup featuring Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodgers hold a lead of 6.5 games over the second-place Padres, tying them with the Phillies for the second-largest division lead in all of Major League Baseball. (The Brewers’ seven-game lead in the NL Central is currently the largest division lead in MLB.)

Giants Place Blake Snell On Injured List

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June 3: As expected, the Giants announced today that Snell has been placed on the 15-day IL with a left groin strain. Outfielder Michael Conforto was reinstated from the IL as the corresponding move.

June 2: Blake Snell’s nightmare of a season looks to be taking him back to the injured list, as the Giants left-hander had to leave today’s start against the Yankees due to left groin tightness.  Snell had thrown 4 2/3 innings and the first two pitches of an at-bat against Alex Verdugo before he had to depart after a visit from the team trainer.  Speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area and other media post-game, Giants manager Bob Melvin indicated Snell will almost surely be placed back on the 15-day IL, and a fuller timeline might be known when Snell undergoes an MRI tomorrow.

A similar injury led to Snell’s initial IL placement back on April 23, as he ended up missing almost exactly a month of action due to a left adductor strain.  Today marked Snell’s third start back in action, and he again didn’t have much success, finishing with three earned runs over his 4 2/3 frames.

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner now has a 9.51 ERA over 23 2/3 innings since signing a two-year, $62MM free agent deal with San Francisco on March 19.  Since Snell didn’t sign until just a week prior to Opening Day, his preseason work consisted of extended Spring Training and simulated games, and the rust has been pretty evident since he made his Giants debut on April 8.  It isn’t a stretch to say that these twin groin/adductor injuries might also stem from Snell not being entirely ramped up for the start of his season, though he did look great in his rehab outings while recovering from his previous injury.

Assuming the MRI doesn’t reveal anything more serious, it would seem like Snell is in for at least another month on the sidelines, as both he and the Giants surely want to ensure that this injury is fully dealt with before Snell restarts another round of throwing sessions and minor league rehab starts.  Given the calendar, it seems possible that Snell could potentially be out until after the All-Star break, if the Giants wanted to give more time if he wasn’t quite ready by the beginning of July.

Missing more time also has broader implications on Snell’s future in San Francisco, as his contract carries an opt-out clause.  The two-year deal was designed to allow Snell to potentially re-enter the market quickly after another strong season, and this time land the more lucrative longer-term pact that eluded him this past winter.  However, even if he returns in July in his past form and pitches like an ace the rest of the way, the lackluster first three months might’ve already done enough to reinforce whatever doubts teams have about Snell’s ability to stay healthy.  Remaining with the Giants and banking another $30MM in 2025 isn’t exactly an ugly outcome for Snell, but since he’ll be 33 on Opening Day 2026, time is running out for Snell to truly maximize his earning potential.

Only five National League teams have winning records, so the 29-31 Giants still hold the third wild card slot despite all their struggles.  The rotation has been an obvious concern, as Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, and Kyle Harrison have been San Francisco’s only reliable starters — Snell, Keaton Winn, and Mason Black have gotten the majority of other starts and none have pitched well.  Winn has also been out of action due to a forearm strain, though he was set for a minor league rehab game on Tuesday.

Since the Giants have an off-days both on Thursday and on June 13, they could keep Winn on his planned rehab schedule because the team wouldn’t need a fifth starter for close to three weeks.  Black could also be recalled from Triple-A, and the Giants are still probably at least six weeks away from having Robbie Ray or Alex Cobb as viable candidates to return from the 60-day IL.  Ray will pitch in an Arizona Complex League game this week as he continues to rehab his way back from Tommy John surgery, and Cobb has started throwing again after shoulder discomfort led to a shutdown in mid-May.

Tigers Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment, Release Keston Hiura

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy, which was reported on yesterday. To open a spot on the active roster, they optioned first baseman Spencer Torkelson, a move that was also previously reported. To open a 40-man spot for Malloy, infielder Buddy Kennedy was designated for assignment. The Tigers also released first baseman Keston Hiura, with Torkelson taking over as the regular first baseman for Triple-A Toledo. Evan Woodbery of MLive was among those to relay the Hiura news on X.

Kennedy, 25, was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in February. He has spent most of this year on optional assignment, only stepping to the plate 13 times in the big leagues. In 163 plate appearances for the Mud Hens, he has drawn walks at a strong rate of 11.7% but produced a tepid line of .234/.331/.383. That translates to a wRC+ of 88, indicating he’s been 12% below league average.

The Tigers will now have a week to trade Kennedy or pass him through waivers. If the past year is any indication, he should have plenty of interest around the league. Kennedy spent most of his career with the Diamondbacks until he was designated for assignment in September of last year. He then bounced to the Athletics, Cardinals and Tigers via waiver claims in the next few months.

The interest is understandable when looking at Kennedy’s combination of plate discipline and positional versatility. He’s always drawn a fair amount of walks, taking a free pass 16.8% of the time with Arizona’s Triple-A club last year. He slashed .318/.444/.481 for Reno last year, a mark that led to a 133 wRC+ even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He’s also spent time at all four infield spots, though just two innings at shortstop, and has appeared in left field as well.

He is in his final option year but could be stashed in the minors for the next few months by any club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot. The offense hasn’t been quite as impressive this year but it’s been a fairly small sample and he’s just a few months removed from being a popular waiver claim target. If he were to clear waivers, he has a previous career outright, which will give him the right to elect free agency rather than accept another outright assignment.

Hiura, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason and has been playing regularly for the Mud Hens. He has hit six home runs but also been punched out in 28.1% of his plate appearances. His .232/.312/.401 line translates to an 83 wRC+. That has generally been the formula with Hiura throughout his career. He has 50 major league home runs in 1,057 plate appearances but also has a massive 36% strikeout rate in the big leagues.

With Torkelson now taking over the first base gig for Toledo, Hiura will return to the open market and see what opportunities are out there for him. He hasn’t been in especially good form this year but the power potential is always intriguing.

Jose Urquidy May Require Season-Ending Surgery

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Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy will soon see Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas and may need a second Tommy John surgery, per a report from Alden González and Jeff Passan of ESPN, relayed by González on X.

The 29-year-old Urquidy has yet to pitch this season, opening the year on the injured list with a forearm strain. He went out on a minor league rehab assignment last month, but he was pulled from his latest appearance after experiencing renewed discomfort in his forearm area. Houston skipper Joe Espada said late last week that Urquidy and fellow right-hander Cristian Javier were seeking opinions from other doctors for their respective forearm issues — always an ominous development for a pitcher when dealing with a forearm/elbow injury.

This marks the third time in four seasons that Urquidy has spent time on the injured list, though this would obviously be the most significant injury of the bunch. Shoulder troubles limited him to 20 starts and 107 innings back in 2021, and he missed more than three months of the 2023 campaign with another shoulder injury.

When healthy, Urquidy is a solid big league arm. He was tagged for a 5.29 ERA last year, perhaps due to that shoulder injury, but has otherwise posted a sub-4.00 ERA mark in every big league season he’s pitched. He’s totaled 405 MLB frames and logged a 3.98 ERA. Urquidy’s 19.6% strikeout rate is about three percentage points shy of the league average, but he’s also posted an excellent 5.8% walk rate in the majors which has helped him to offset the relative lack of whiffs. He’s been prone to homers, as one might expect from an undersized right-hander with average fastball velocity, but his changeup has been an excellent pitch that’s helped him to hold left-handers to a woeful .203/.255/.364 slash in his career.

Urquidy is one of several Houston rotation options who’s missed time this year. Both Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez are healthy now but have had stays on the injured list. The aforementioned Javier just landed on the 15-day IL recently. The ’Stros have also been without righties Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. all season, with the former recovering from Tommy John surgery performed last May and the latter on the mend from flexor surgery performed last June.

The litany of injuries, paired with major steps back for right-handers J.P. France and Hunter Brown, has left Houston in what’s been an unfamiliar position for them in recent years: one of possessing a clear deficiency in the starting rotation. Starting pitching has been a hallmark of recent Astros clubs, but Houston starters rank 26th in baseball with a 4.69 ERA in 2024.

Brown has begun to right the ship after incorporating a new two-seamer into his repertoire, but he opened the season with 26 runs in 23 innings, so he has a ways to go before his numbers look respectable once again. France posted an ERA north of 7.00 and was optioned to Triple-A, where he’s since gone on the injured list with a shoulder injury. Rookie Spencer Arrighetti has been knocked around for a 5.98 ERA in his first nine MLB starts.

The quartet of Verlander, Valdez, Javier and breakout righty Ronel Blanco has combined for strong results this season, but Javier’s outlook is up in the air at the moment. Brown is holding down a rotation spot and can hopefully continue his recent stretch of productivity, but the depth behind the current group is suspect. Expected returns of Urquidy, McCullers and Garcia have been viewed as critical to the Astros as the summer wears on, but it now seems there’s a real chance Urquidy won’t make it back to the mound at all in 2024. Lefty Eric Lauer recently inked a minor league deal with the Astros but was hit hard in his first Triple-A start with the organization.

If Urquidy does go under the knife for the second Tommy John surgery of his career, he’ll miss the remainder of the 2024 season and likely the majority of the 2025 campaign as well. It seems quite possible that a surgery would end his tenure in Houston. He entered the 2024 season with 4.049 years of MLB service and will be paid $3.75MM this season, potentially spending the entire year on the injured list. He’d then be arbitration-eligible one final time this offseason before qualifying as a free agent post-2025. However, if Urquidy is going to miss the bulk of next season, the Astros would likely non-tender him rather than pay him what’d likely be a repeat of this year’s $3.75MM salary just to pitch the final couple months of next season in a best-case scenario.

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