Houston Astros Make Roster Shuffle Ahead of Tigers Matchup

The Houston Astros have made roster moves that gets one of their top pitchers back into the rotation ahead of their series finale against the Detroit Tigers.

As it stands entering Sunday, the Houston Astros are one game back of the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners in the AL West standings, but hold the final spot in the AL Wild Card race.

They're set to complete their series against the Detroit Tigers at 1:40 p.m. EST after splitting the first two games. The bigger news coming out of the matchup is that the Astros have activated one of their star bullpen pieces from the injured list.

After performing well in his rehab stint at Triple-A on Friday, Phil Maton has been activated to the major league roster according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

The right hander was on the injured list since Aug. 12 with a right elbow contusion after being hit with a line drive against the Los Angeles Angels.

Maton has a 3.04 ERA across 53.1 innings pitched this season, but is a high strikeout rate guy, recording more than one strikeout per inning since he joined the team in 2021.

Houston optioned reliever Ronel Blanco back down to Triple-A in order to make a roster spot available for Maton. It's the fifth time that Blanco has been sent down to the minor leagues this season.

According to Rome, they will not be able to option him down to the minors again if he's called up without him being exposed to waivers. Blanco is a 29-year-old right hander who has a 4.50 ERA across 52.0 innings pitched for the Astros this season.

Getting Maton back into the mix within the bullpen is great timing for Houston who is in the middle of a highly competitive division race amidst their playoff push.