Houston Astros Star Pitcher Eyeing Return at Important Part of This Season

The Houston Astros are trying to figure out a way to become the team to beat in the American League once again.

Coming off the earliest postseason exit in the better part of the last decade with a Wild Card round elimination at the hands of the Detroit Tigers and former manager A.J. Hinch, the Astros are caught between rebuilding and trying to contend.

In truth, Houston has enough on the roster to at least push for the playoffs and potentially make some noise, but they will need reinforcements they didn't have in 2024, especially on the pitching staff.

One player who was sorely missed down the stretch this past campaign was right-hander Cristian Javier.

Undergoing season-ending surgery in June, Javier is not going to be present at the start of the year, but when exactly he could be back has been a question mark.

He shed some light on his potential return, saying via Ari Alexander of KPRC2 that he's targeting to returning sometime after the All-Star break.

Given the fact he's recovering from Tommy John, the Astros are likely going to err on the side of caution when it comes to bringing back the star.

Javier made his big league debut for Houston back in 2020 and posted some impressive numbers during his first four seasons. In 109 appearances including 75 starts, the righty began his career with a 30-17 record, 3.57 ERA, WHIP of 1.115, and 537 strikeouts in 466.1 innings pitched.

He was off to another strong start in 2024 with a 3.89 ERA over his first seven outings before his season came to an untimely close.

It's no coincidence that the best year of Javier's career came in the same season the team won their second World Series title with a 2.54 ERA in 30 appearances and over 300 innings, striking out batters at the highest rate of his career. Over his final two starts of the year in the ALCS and Game 4 of the World Series, Javier gave up no runs and just one hit in 11.1 innings of work.

Him being able to come back down the stretch this season when presumably the Astros will be jockeying for playoff positioning could prove to be a massive boost, potentially become an X-factor type of piece inserted into the rotation at the most important part of the campaign.

If Javier can focus on getting healthy and doing what he needs to do with his rehab in order to be able to take the field this year, he could be the difference between a deep playoff run or another disappointing finish.