Astros Face Key Pitching Decision as Final Stretch Approaches

The Houston Astros have an issue to address on their pitching staff.

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The Houston Astros have had to overcome a lot of adversity this season when it comes to key contributors being sidelined by injuries.

Their pitching staff has been hit especially hard throughout the campaign. The only players that manager Joe Espada has been able to consistently rely on in the starting rotation are Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown.

They are going to be the only players on the roster who reach 20 starts this season, potentially even the 15-start plateau.

The starting rotation on Opening Day has lost three members: Spencer Arrighetti, Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blacno. Arrighetti suffered a freak accident early in the season when throwing in the outfield and is now dealing with elbow issues. Wesneski and Blanco both had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Josh Hader Is Major Loss for Astros Bullpen

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Unfortunately, the injuries haven’t been limited to only the starting rotation. The bullpen has suffered its fair share of losses as well. Easily the most impactful was closer Josh Hader landing on the injured list for the first time in his career.

His availability for the remainder of the year is up in the air. It has been a massive blow to the team with the All-Star in the midst of arguably the best season of his career. Without him anchoring the backend of the bullpen, it has pushed other pitchers into more prominent roles.

Hader last pitched on Aug. 8, with Bryan Abreu taking over as the closer in his absence. Since that point, his production has remained excellent. He had two hiccups in back-to-back outings against the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees, surrendering six earned runs in only 1.2 innings. Outside of those two appearances, he has been dominant.

Abreu has had nine scoreless outings around those two blowups. Espada is certainly comfortable handing the ball to him at the end of games to close things out. However, getting the ball to him is not always the easiest thing to do.

Who Will Step Up Alongside Bryan Abreu in Astros Bullpen

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With Hader sidelined, everyone else has to move up one spot in the pecking order. Houston has two excellent setup men still with Bryan King and Steven Okert. However, both are left-handed pitchers, leaving Espada in a bit of a quagmire.

If they need someone to get outs late in the game who throws right-handed, the options right now might be Craig Kimbrel and Enyel De Los Santos. Both have produced during their stints with the Astros thus far, but there is a reason both were available as midseason castoffs from other franchises. 

Turning to either of them in a high-leverage situation late in a game will cause the blood pressure of the coaching staff and fan base to rise exponentially. However, that is all Houston has to rely on right now. Unless Hader makes a miraculous comeback and Abreu can return to a setup role alongside King and Okert, Espada will have to make do with what he has at his disposal.