Houston Astros Veteran Reliever Starts Shoulder Injury Recovery Process

The Houston Astros have had a few injuries come about during spring training, but one of their relievers has started the recovery process.

Houston Astros relief pitcher Shawn Dubin throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians. . | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have been dealing with some injury concerns this spring, including infielder Christian Walker, along with many of the pitchers on the team.

One of the pitchers who has been working towards getting back on the mound recently is right-handed reliever Shawn Dubin, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury.

This recovery timeline initially did not look good, as Dubin was going to be shut down, "for a while" according to manager Joe Espada. This made it seem likely that the reliever may start out the season on the injured list, and while that may still be the case, he is making strides in his recovery that may see him back in the near future.

Reporter Brian McTaggart of MLB.com recently provided some much-needed updates regarding team injuries, as they were being discussed by Espada. Dubin was one of those updates, as he is now throwing from 60 feet, which is a rather quick development as only two weeks ago he was seemingly in a pretty tough spot injury-wise.

Getting that out of the way while spring training is still going on is a good sign, as he will still have some time to ramp up to the full distance, and potentially work in a few bullpen sessions where he can get a feel for how his shoulder reacts to the stress.

Ultimately his status for the start of the season will be in question, but as he works through some of the initial stages of recovery, he has a chance to slowly ramp back up to full strength.

Dubin has been with the Astros organization since being drafted in the 13th round of the 2018 MLB draft, and he spent multiple seasons in the minor leagues developing his game and improving over time.

He would finally make his MLB debut in 2023, but unfortunately struggled in the three games he pitched in. In that span, he accrued a 7.00 ERA, 1.667 WHIP, 11 strikeouts to three walks, and one home run allowed in nine innings.

However, he would get a larger sample size in 2024, and proved he could improve over the course of the year. He would pitch in 31 games, and in those appearances he had a 4.96 ERA, 1.566 WHIP, 49 strikeouts to 26 walks, two saves, and three home runs allowed in 45.1 innings of work.

He could be a crucial part of Houston's bullpen in 2025, and with multiple pitchers entering the season injured, he could find a role for himself given he recovers quickly enough.