Who Are the Odd Men Out When Houston Astros Stars Return from Injured List?
Houston Astros starting pitcher José Urquidy is inching closer to returning to the rotation, with the 28-year-old right hander currently on a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
Urquidy will follow up his short stint with the Space Cowboys with a two-game assignment with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks as a key piece to Houston's starting rotation continues to push to make a comeback by early August.
Prior to his prolonged injury, Urquidy was 2-2 with a 5.20 ERA (over 27.2 innings pitched) with 23 strikeouts and a 1.55 WHIP.
Outfielder Yordan Alvarez is also aiming to return to the lineup in the near future, although a recently illness postponed his rehab assignment in Sugar Land.
Second baseman José Altuve, meanwhile, is nearing a Minor League rehab assignment and will likely begin one in the very near future.
So who will be sent down when Houston's stars return to the team?
Likely candidates include pitcher Joel Kuhnel, infielder David Hensley and outfielder Bligh Madris.
Kuhnel, 28, has appeared in three games for the Astros out of the bullpen this season with a 10.80 ERA (5.0 innings pitched) and a 2.20 WHIP.
Hensley, 27, has played in 28 games for Houston this season while slashing .125/.213/.175 with one home run, one stolen base and three RBI.
Madris, 27, has appeared in nine games for the Astros this season while splitting time between first base and the outfield and slashing .136/.240/.182 with three hits.
All three of the aforementioned appear destined to be heading back to the Space Cowboys, but only time will tell as Urquidy, Alvarez and Altuve make their way back to the active roster.
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