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Ronel Blanco To Go On IL For Elbow Soreness

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May 22: General manager Dana Brown appeared on Sports Talk 790’s Sean Salisbury Show this morning and did not give an immediate update but said the team would provide more information later today (presumably, when meeting with the entire Houston beat). Brown noted that the team has hoping for the best, but the suggestion of a formal announcement at a scheduled time does little to quell concerns about an already ominous injury scenario.

Unsurprisingly, manager Joe Espada said that Blanco will be placed on the injured list, per Leah Vann of Chron.com. Blanco will be getting a second opinion about his elbow. Espada added that Gordon will be recalled as the corresponding move, per Vann.

May 21: The Astros are in Tampa but right-hander Ronel Blanco isn’t with them. Manager Joe Espada tells Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle that the righty reported elbow soreness two days ago and flew back to Houston to be evaluated.

At this point, there’s not too much information to go on. Blanco started on Saturday and threw 92 pitches over six innings against the Rangers. His fastball velocity held fairly steady compared to his previous start but has been trending down in recent weeks. His fastball velo crept up over his first five starts of the season, topping out at 94.3 miles per hour on April 22nd. But it dropped to 93.5 mph in the start after that, then 93.4, 93.0 and 92.8 mph in his most recent outings.

There are many things that could explain such a trend and the current testing will surely provide more information. Until there’s more clarity, it’s too soon for a full-blown panic, but it’s a worrisome situation. It’s always a bit alarming when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is injured, of course. For the Astros, it’s especially notable, given their larger rotation picture.

Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and J.P. France are all on the 60-day injured list, recovering from major surgeries in previous seasons. Just three days ago, it was reported that Hayden Wesneski would require Tommy John surgery. He has already joined those other three hurlers on the 60-day IL. Houston also has Spencer Arrighetti on the 15-day IL, as he fractured a thumb in early April.

Around those injuries, they are down to a rotation core of Blanco, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers only just returned from his own lengthy injury layoff, making three starts so far this month, his first big league action since 2022. The Astros have recently turned to Ryan Gusto, Colton Gordon and Brandon Walter to make spot starts as they are trying to trudge through a 17-game stretch with no off days.

If Blanco needs to miss some time, that would further subtract from a group that already feels thin. The righty has emerged as a key piece of the rotation in recent years. He logged 167 1/3 innings last season with a 2.80 earned run average. His 10.1% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 24.6% of batters faced.

There was a bit of luck in that thanks to a .220 batting average on balls in play and 83.6% strand rate, which is why his 4.15 FIP and 4.17 SIERA were a bit skeptical of that ERA. This year, his ERA has indeed normalized to 4.10, even with his strikeout and walk rates holding fairly steady. Even if Blanco’s true talent is an ERA just above 4.00, that’s a decent starter and not one a club wants to lose, especially when they are already so snakebit.

The Astros still have five more games until their next day off. Brown is going today. Per Kawahara, the Astros plan to have McCullers, Gusto and Valdez take the next three with Sunday’s starter to be determined. It seems fair to assume Blanco won’t be an option for that Sunday game.

Gordon and Walter were both just optioned to the minors in recent days. An optional assignment for a pitcher comes with a 15-day minimum unless they are being recalled as the corresponding move for a pitcher going on the IL. AJ Blubaugh is also on the 40-man and is pitching in Triple-A. Jason Alexander was just claimed off waivers from the Athletics three days ago and he could factor in. Guys like Tyler Ivey and Miguel Ullola are also pitching in Triple-A but not on the 40-man.

Beyond this weekend, the Astros will perhaps have to come up with a long-term rotation plan that doesn’t involve Blanco. Valdez and Brown give them a strong one-two punch but there would be plenty of uncertainty beyond that. McCullers is still a wild card after missing two full seasons and the Astros may need to cobble together something for two rotation spots behind him.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Astros Select Brandon Walter

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May 20: Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Walter has been selected and Wesneski transferred to the 60-day IL, as expected. Gordon has been optioned as the corresponding active roster move.

May 19: Left-hander Brandon Walter will start for the Astros tomorrow against Tampa Bay, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The Astros will need to add him to the 40-man roster. They can move Hayden Wesneski, who is ticketed for Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man spot. They’ll also need to make a corresponding active roster move involving a pitcher.

Walter signed a minor league contract with the Astros last August. It was apparently a two-year deal, as the southpaw spent last season on the injured list rehabbing a rotator cuff injury. Walter made his return to the mound during Spring Training, allowing four runs through seven innings.

He’s been working in a swing role at Triple-A Sugar Land, where he has started five of nine appearances. Walter owns a 2.27 ERA across 35 2/3 innings, backing that up with strong underlying marks. He’s getting grounders at a huge 60% rate, striking out upwards of a quarter of opponents, and has kept his walk rate to a minuscule 5.2% clip.

It has been a nice rebound effort for the 28-year-old lefty. Walter went from an unheralded 26th-round draft choice to one of the better pitching prospects in the Red Sox’s system a couple years ago. He was hit hard in his nine MLB appearances with the Sox, allowing a 6.26 ERA over 23 innings two seasons back. He owns a 4.19 ERA across parts of three Triple-A seasons. Walter isn’t going to overpower many hitters, as his four-seam and sinker each average 91 MPH. His five-pitch mix is headlined by his upper-70s sweeping slider.

Walter still has an option remaining, so the Astros can send him back to Sugar Land without putting him on waivers. For now, he joins rookie Ryan Gusto as swing options. Colton Gordon has taken Wesneski’s rotation spot, rounding out the starting five behind Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Ronel Blanco and Lance McCullers Jr. The Astros haven’t had an off day since May 8 and won’t be off until next Monday. They’ll likely use Walter and Gusto in some kind of tandem outing tomorrow to reduce the workload on the rest of the staff.

Astros Designate Tayler Scott For Assignment

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The Astros have designated right-hander Tayler Scott for assignment, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. That’s the corresponding move for lefty Colton Gordon, whose promotion was reported earlier this week. Gordon was already on the 40-man, so this drops the club’s count to 39.

Scott, 33 next month, seemed to have a bit of a breakout with the Astros in 2024. After years of bouncing around to various major league clubs, minor league clubs, indy ball teams and a stint in Japan, he signed a minor league pact with Houston in December of 2023.

He made the Opening Day roster last year and went on to log 68 2/3 innings on the season, allowing just 2.23 earned runs per nine. His 12.4% walk rate was certainly on the high side but his 42.4% ground ball rate was around league average, while his 25.2% strikeout rate was a few ticks above par. He likely got a bit of help from his .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate, but even ERA estimators like his 4.13 FIP and 4.04 SIERA suggested he could be a useful bullpen arm even with a bit less luck.

Unfortunately, almost everything has gone in the wrong direction this year. Through 16 2/3 innings, he has a 5.40 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 15.4% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate. That has clearly worn out Houston’s patience. Scott is out of options, so they had little choice but to bump him off the 40-man entirely.

Scott will now be in DFA limbo for a maximum of one week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Astros could take five days to explore trade possibilities. Perhaps some club in need of bullpen help could be interested, if they feel there’s a way for Scott to get back to last year’s results.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea,Imagn Images

Astros To Promote Colton Gordon

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The Astros will recall left-hander Colton Gordon from Triple-A Sugar Land to start tomorrow’s game, reports Chron.com’s Leah Vann. Gordon, who’ll be making his MLB debut, will step into the rotation spot of the injured Hayden Wesneski. He’s already on the 40-man roster, so Houston will only need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move to bring him to the majors.

Gordon, 26, has gotten out to a terrific start in 2025. He’s taken the mound eight times and logged 42 1/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball, fanning 25.3% of his opponents against a 4.7% walk rate. Both those marks are better than average — considerably so, in the case of that walk rate — as is his 43.5% ground-ball rate.

The Astros’ 2021 eighth-rounder out of the University of Central Florida, Gordon entered the 2025 season ranked 20th among Astros prospects at Baseball America and 14th at MLB.com. He doesn’t throw hard, sitting just 91.1 mph on his four-seamer, but the 6’4″ southpaw benefits from above-average command and a deep, six-pitch arsenal that helps keep hitters off balance. In addition to that four-seamer, Gordon also throws a sinker, slider, changeup, curveball and cutter.

With Wesneski (elbow inflammation) joining Spencer Arrighetti (broken thumb), J.P. France (2024 shoulder surgery), Cristian Javier (2024 Tommy John surgery) and Luis Garcia (2023 Tommy John surgery, and multiple setbacks) on the injured list, Houston’s pitching depth is being put to the test. Gordon and righties AJ Blubaugh and Miguel Ullola are the top internal options in Triple-A, while righties Ryan Gusto and Shawn Dubin are both on the big league roster and capable of starting. Dubin, however, just made his season debut after a lengthy IL stint due to shoulder inflammation and is not stretched out. He’s pitched only in one-inning stints so far and appears set for a second straight year working primarily out of the bullpen, so perhaps his days as a rotation option are behind him.

The ’Stros boast a formidable one-two rotation punch in Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez, but the rest of the group is on shakier standing. Lance McCullers Jr. just returned from an injury absence of more than two years, so it’s tough to know what to expect from him. Ronel Blanco was a godsend for the 2024 Astros but never seemed likely to replicate last year’s 2.80 ERA, which was propped up by a tiny .220 average on balls in play and bloated 83.6% strand rate. He’s worked to a 4.04 ERA in 2025, which is more in line with last year’s 4.17 SIERA and 4.15 FIP. To Blanco’s credit, he turned in one of the best starts by any pitcher in MLB this season last time out, blanking the Reds over eight innings of two-hit ball with 11 strikeouts, but he entered that start with a 4.98 ERA, a 21.9% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate.

Given the injuries up and down the staff, Gordon ought to get several chances to prove himself in 2025. He was only selected to the 40-man roster this past November, so he’s in the first of three minor league option years. He can be controlled through at least the 2031 season.

Astros Notes: Arrighetti, Gusto, Rodgers

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“A really, really freak accident” is now Spencer Arrighetti described the batting-practice incident that resulted in a broken right thumb for the Astros pitcher.  Last Monday, Arrighetti was in the outfield playing catch while the Mariners were taking BP, and a line drive from the batter’s box struck the right-hander before Arrighetti could properly react.  As the pitcher told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, he instinctively covered his head with his hands after someone called out about the incoming line drive, only for the ball to hit Arrighetti’s thumb.

While a broken thumb is still a tough outcome, Arrighetti said “the road back is really clear-cut….We’re going to continually image it over the course of the next few weeks, and as soon as we feel it’s in a place where I’m ready to throw the ball, I’ll throw the ball again.”  Houston general manager Dana Brown said on Friday that the team believes Arrighetti can be back in action in around six weeks’ time, if all goes well with the recovery process.

With Arrighetti sidelined, Ryan Gusto received the opportunity for his first MLB start, though things didn’t exactly go swimmingly for Gusto in Houston’s 4-1 loss to the Angels yesterday.  Gusto allowed three earned runs over his four innings (72 pitches) of work, with two of those runs coming early when Gusto surrendered hits to his first three batters of the game.

The Astros have an off-day on Thursday, so the team technically doesn’t need a fifth starter again until April 22 if the other four starters are kept on their regular rest schedule.  This gives the Astros some time to determine if Gusto will get another start, or if they could return him to bullpen action and use another starter in his stead.  As noted by the Houston Chronicle’s Sam Warren, Brown said on Friday that Triple-A starter Colton Gordon could be called up (in what would be Gordon’s big league debut) to start if the club ultimately decides to keep Gusto in a relief role.

Gusto also made his MLB debut earlier this season, and he posted a 1.13 ERA over his first eight innings and four appearances out of Houston’s pen.  While the Astros don’t want to close the door on Gusto’s potential as a starter in the near term, there is obvious appeal in deploying him as a quality multi-inning reliever.  The fact that Arrighetti will miss at least the next six weeks does allow the Astros some flexibility in figuring how exactly they’ll address the fifth starter spot, as there’s enough time for Gusto to start games and then get moved back into a long relief or swingman role.

Brendan Rodgers hasn’t played in either of the Astros’ last two games due to some left hip soreness, manager Joe Espada told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters.  The injury appears to be pretty minor, as Rodgers felt well enough to take some grounders before Saturday’s game.  Rodgers is off to a respectable start (.250/.351/.313) over his first 37 plate appearances in a Houston uniform, as he went from minor league signing to starting second baseman due to the Astros’ decision to use Jose Altuve primarily as a left fielder.

Astros To Select Colton Gordon

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The Astros are adding left-hander Colton Gordon to their 40-man roster, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link). The 6’4″ southpaw would otherwise have been eligible for next month’s Rule 5 draft. Houston has one additional opening on the 40-man roster, so it’s possible they’ll make another move before tonight’s deadline to keep players out of the Rule 5.

Gordon was an eighth-round pick in 2021. The Central Florida product has found success as a starter in the minors. He owns a 3.74 ERA in a little more than 300 professional innings. Gordon managed a 3.94 mark across 123 1/3 frames with Triple-A Sugar Land this year. He struck out a solid 23.8% of opponents while issuing walks at a respectable 7.5% clip.

Prospect evaluators have never graded Gordon especially highly. Baseball America has ranked him in the back half of their top 30 prospects in a thin Astros’ system for the last two years. Gordon doesn’t throw hard and had a middling 9.7% swinging strike rate in Triple-A. That limits his ceiling, but starting pitchers with upper minors success are often plucked away in the Rule 5 draft. The Astros ensure that won’t happen with Gordon, who could make his big league debut as a spot starter or long reliever next season.

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