HOUSTON -- Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who landed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with right elbow inflammation, is likely done for the remainder of the regular season, manager Joe Espada said Thursday at Daikin Park.
“Just where we are during the season, getting back from elbow inflammation, trying to get him built up -- obviously we’re going to have to shut him down -- probably [for] the regular season, it might be tough for him to get back,” Espada said.
Arrighetti missed four months with a fractured right thumb and returned Aug. 6, going 0-4 with a 5.26 ERA in five starts. He was coming off his best start of the season Saturday against the Angels, holding them to one hit and one run while striking out eight batters in 6 1/3 innings.
“He’s bummed out,” Espada said. “It’s something that we weren’t expecting and something that he didn’t want to obviously go through, but this is where we’re at. He is going to work hard to get back and we’re going to help him get back. He was not happy when we told him this might take some time.”
The Astros have five healthy starting pitchers with Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Jason Alexander, Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia, but could look to build in a bullpen game this weekend to give them an extra day of rest. Arrighetti was scheduled to start Friday’s series opener in Arlington.
Javier and Garcia recently returned from major arm surgeries, so the Astros would like to build in some extra days for them in the final three weeks of the regular season.
“We are not only thinking about the present with those guys,” Espada said. “We’re trying to win a pennant, but also we know how hard those guys have worked to get back, so we want to make sure we take care of their health first. We are taking those things into consideration when we’re putting [together] our rotation for the next couple of weeks.”
Javier returned from Tommy John surgery Aug. 11 and made his fifth start in Thursday’s series finale against the Yankees. Garcia, pitching for the first time since May 1, 2023, held the Angels to three runs and three hits in six innings to pick up the win in the Astros’ 8-3 victory Monday.
The Astros lost Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco to Tommy John surgery in May. Lance McCullers Jr. made his return to the mound for the first time since the 2022 World Series in May, but struggled and has been moved to the bullpen.