Injured Houston Astros Pitchers Play Catch Before Atlanta Braves Game

The Houston Astros have a large group of starters on the injured list and it seems like all of them threw catch on Monday before the Atlanta Braves game.

Name an injured Houston Astros pitcher and they were probably playing catch before Monday’s game with the Atlanta Braves.

The Athletic reported that Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., Penn Murfee and José Urquidy all played catch on Monday. A fifth, Framber Valdez, joined in, even though he wasn’t scheduled to play catch until Tuesday.

Valdez is the pitcher that is the closest to returning. He went on the 15-day injured list last week with soreness in his left elbow. He told reporters last weekend that he didn’t have an MRI and doesn’t believe he’ll need to go on a rehab assignment when he is eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday.

Even though he played catch on Monday, it may not preclude him from playing catch again on Tuesday. General manager Dana Brown said that he hopes the team will have Valdez back before they head to Mexico City for their two-game series with the Colorado Rockies April 27-28.

Urquidy has been on the 15-day injured list since the start of the season. He suffered a right elbow strain late in spring training and has thrown off a mound recently. He’ll need a rehab stint before he can return to the Astros, and the team is targeting a May return for the right-hander, who missed three months last season with shoulder issues.

Garcia, McCullers and Murfee are all recovering from major surgeries and are not expected to help Houston until the second half of the season.

Garcia may be the furthest along. He's thrown off a mound of late and the team considers him to be a bit ahead of schedule, as they were expecting him to return in the second half of the season from Tommy John surgery.

Murfee, whom the Astros claimed off waivers from the Braves, is also recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s recently progressed to throwing 120 feet off flat ground.

McCullers had right forearm surgery last year and has progressed to throwing off the slope of the mound. He is expected back in the second half of the season.