HOUSTON -- With seven starting pitchers on the injured list and in the midst of playing 13 consecutive games without a day off, the Astros’ starting pitching depth is being tested. Lance McCullers Jr. landing on the injured list on Tuesday with a blister was the latest blow to a rotation that has been decimated by injuries.
The Astros summoned Jason Alexander, a 32-year-old they claimed off waivers in in May, from Triple-A Sugar Land for a spot start Thursday night against the A’s, and it didn’t go well. Alexander, who beat the A’s on June 17 in West Sacramento by allowing three runs (two earned) in six innings, was rocked this time around for five runs and 11 hits in six innings in the Astros’ 5-2 loss at Daikin Park.
The Astros are 29-11 this year in games started by co-aces Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez, who have thrown 43.8% of the innings by Houston starters (247 of 564 1/3). The Astros are 31-32 in games started by anyone else, but help appears to be on the way.
Cristian Javier, a key member of the Astros’ rotation from 2022-23, made a rehab start Thursday night for Triple-A Sugar Land and allowed one run, two walks, three hits and struck out one batter in 2 2/3 innings at El Paso. He threw 30 of 49 pitches for strikes and averaged 93.6 mph with his fastball but generated only three whiffs from among 20 swings.
Three other injured Astros starters are scheduled to make rehab outings this weekend at Double-A Corpus Christi -- Spencer Arrighetti on Friday, Luis Garcia on Saturday and J.P. France on Sunday. Arrighetti is the first in line to be activated from among Houston starters on the IL, followed by Javier.
The possibility of getting one or two starting pitchers back and healthy in the rotation soon could mitigate the Astros’ need to try to acquire a starter before the Trade Deadline on July 31, especially considering the Astros’ need for a left-handed bat and a right-handed relief pitcher.
Javier, who underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2024, last pitched in the big leagues on May 21, 2024. He went 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts last year.
Javier, the outfielder-turned-pitcher who signed for only $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic a week before his 18th birthday in 2015, threw the first six innings of the Astros’ combined no-hitter against the Phillies in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series. Earlier that year, he threw seven scoreless innings in a combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium
Arrighetti broke his right thumb when he was drilled by a line drive hit by a Mariners batter during batting practice April 7 while he was playing catch in the outfield in Seattle. He made his first rehab start at Corpus Christi on Saturday at Frisco and threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four batters.
Arrighetti was called up early last year after Javier was injured and went 7-13 with a 4.53 ERA as a rookie, pitching better in the second half (3.18 ERA) than the first (5.63 ERA).
Garcia, who underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2023, has made three rehab appearances this season, including two in the Florida Complex League and one with Single-A Fayetteville. He threw two scoreless, hitless innings in relief Saturday at Salem with two strikeouts and no walks.
Garcia hasn’t pitched in the big leagues in more than two seasons and has had a pair of setbacks. He was shut down this spring before he was scheduled to throw a live batting practice session in Florida and had a previous setback during a Minor League rehab assignment in June 2024.
France, who threw 1 1/3 innings in a Minor League rehab outing Tuesday in the FCL, made five starts in the first month of the ’24 season, posting a 7.46 ERA, before being shut down. He underwent surgery July 1 to repair a torn right shoulder capsule. In ’23, France went 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA in 24 games (23 starts) as a rookie.
Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco, who were in Houston’s rotation to begin the season, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year.