Astros Announce Rehabbing Pitcher Shut Down With Recurrence of Elbow Inflammation

The Houston Astros likely aren't going to receive help from this pitcher in the near future.

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The Houston Astros have had some brutal injury luck when it comes to their pitching staff throughout the 2025 MLB regular season.

Two of the members of their Opening Day rotation, Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco, suffered elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery. Spencer Arrighetti just returned to the mound following a four-month absence because of a freak injury suffered during batting practice earlier in the year when he was throwing in the outfield. The only consistent options for manager Joe Espada has been his aces, Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown.

They are the only two members of the Opening Day rotation who have not yet missed any time, knock on wood. Even some of the replacements for the regulars have dealt with injuries. Or, in the case of Ryan Gusto, who was used as part of a package to make a deal ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Lance McCullers Jr. has been in and out of the rotation with ailments and is nearing a return again. Cristian Javier recently made his 2025 season debut, returning on Aug. 11, 2025, for the first time since May 21, 2024, after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Luis Garcia, who hasn’t pitched for Houston since 2023, is also nearing a return.

Astros Provide Brutal Update on Brandon Walter

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It will be a welcome change for Espada to have so many options and so much depth to work with in his rotation compared to how thin things were at points earlier this year. Unfortunately, not all of the updates for his starting pitchers are positive. As shared by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com on X, there are some concerns in the weekly injury update provided by the team.

The worst news involves left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter. He provided the team with some excellent production in a pinch this year, but ended up on the injured list a few weeks ago. After throwing seven innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 23, he was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation.

Working his way back, he was already taking part in a throwing program. But that throwing program has come to a halt and the team has shut him down from throwing. That is because Walter has suffered a recurrence of the inflammation in his elbow that landed him on the injured list in the first place.

Weekly injury update includes a Brandon Walter setback pic.twitter.com/48OAYqPtWq

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 18, 2025

Having a throwing program stopped this late in the season certainly doesn’t bode well for his chances of getting back into the mix with the Big League team before the regular season is over. There is going to have to be a ramp-up period for him at some point and the days are starting to get limited for pitchers to get work in.

It is a rough blow for Walter and the team. He was throwing incredibly well prior to landing on the injured list. In nine starts, he had a 3.35 ERA across 53.2 innings with 52 strikeouts. Even if he wasn’t going to be an option for the rotation, he could have helped the bullpen, with experience as a relief pitcher in addition to being a starter.