Astros General Manager Reveals More Starting Pitching Help Is Coming

Starting pitching depth is going to improve for the Houston Astros soon.

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The Houston Astros have been dealing with a ton of injuries to their roster throughout the 2025 MLB regular season, with their pitching staff being hit especially hard.

Two starters, Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco, went down with elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery. Spencer Arrighetti missed multiple months because of a freak accident that resulted in a broken thumb while he was throwing the ball in the outfield during batting practice. Closer Josh Hader is going to likely miss the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury.

The Astros have had several players step up to replace the production lost from injury. They have had to dip deep into their depth, already starting 13 different pitchers this season. 31 different players, including outfielders Chas McCormick and Cooper Hummel, have thrown at least one inning on the mound in 2025.

In the rotation, there has been a ton of pressure on aces Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown to hold things down. They have been the only two consistent parts of the rotation for manager Joe Espada, making 24 starts apiece. The next most is 14 by Ryan Gusto, who is no longer with the organization. He was traded to the Miami Marlins as part of the package to bring back outfielder Jesus Sanchez.

Despite the constant shuffling with the starting pitchers, Houston has received some solid overall production, anchored by Valdez and Brown. Their starter’s ERA of 3.90 is ninth in the MLB and their 669 innings pitched is sixth. Their 1.21 WHIP and .238 batting average against are both eighth. 678 strikeouts are second most behind the Philadelphia Phillies.

Astros Receive Positive Updates on Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr.

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Espada deserves a lot of credit for how he has navigated the injuries this season, and he is going to have some more options to turn to in the near future. General manager Dana Brown, during the pregame radio show on SportsTalk790, revealed positive updates on two injured starting pitchers. Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are both nearing a return to the big league rotation.

Per Brown, as shared by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Garcia is likely going to need one more rehab start before returning to the MLB roster. His return has been a long time coming. The last time he pitched for the Astros was May 1, 2023 when he was injured against the San Francisco Giants.

On the team’s pregame radio show on @SportsTalk790, GM Dana Brown said Luis Garcia would likely make one more rehab start, with McCullers likely to join the rotation first.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 17, 2025

McCullers was sidelined even longer than his teammate. Prior to taking the mound on May 4 earlier this year, the last time he was on a Major League mound was during the World Series in 2022. He has battled injuries and inconsistencies throughout the 2025 campaign, but he provides the team with much-needed depth in the rotation.

He is expected to return before Garcia. But getting both back in any capacity is a huge addition for a Houston squad that was unable to add any starting pitchers ahead of the deadline. With Cristian Javier also making his return recently, along with Arrighetti, Espada could turn to a six-man rotation for a short time until things settle down.