Pair of Injured Astros Starters Shine in Rehab Starts in Minor Leagues

The talk lately has been what the Houston Astros need to do to add starting pitching depth at the trade deadline.

It’s possible the depth could come from within.

This weekend, two injured starting pitchers — Spencer Arrighetti and Cristian Javier — made injury rehab starts in the minor leagues. For Arrighetti, it was his rehab debut with Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday.

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For Javier, it was the latest rehab start, also with Corpus Christi, on Friday.

Arrighetti, a right-hander, pitched three innings for the Hooks, allowing one hit and striking out four hitters. He walked none. It was an impressive outing for a pitcher that hasn’t thrown in a live game since April 5.

After breaking his right thumb in a freak batting practice accident on April 7 in Seattle, he’s been on the injured list, first of the 15-day IL and then on the 60-day IL, a procedural move to create space on the 40-man roster.

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Houston anticipates a spring training-like ramp-up for Arrighetti, which means he’ll likely make several more rehab starts before the Astros entertain putting him back in the rotation.

He was only able to start two games for Houston before the injury. He went 1-1 with a 5.59 ERA. He broke into the Majors last year when Houston had injury issues and went 7-13 with a 4.534 ERA in 29 games. He struck out 171 and walked 65 in 145 innings.

Javier took the ball for the Hooks, and he also pitched three innings, giving up two hits and an earned run. He struck out three and walked two.

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He previously threw a rehab game in Florida last week, as he pitched 1.1 innings for the Florida Complex League Astros. He gave up three hits, two runs and three walks while he struck out two.

Javier’s rehab may end up having a longer run than Arrighetti. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery last June and is 13 months into the recovery. Typically, a pitcher can return from the surgery in anywhere from 12-18 months.

He is 33-18 with a 3.59 ERA for his career. He was a part of the Astros’ 2022 World Series championship team.

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Two other starters are on the long-term IL and could return this year. One is Luis Garcia, who has been out since May of 2023 after he suffered an arm injury that led to Tommy John surgery.

J.P. France missed the majority of last season after he had surgery to repair a torn right shoulder capsule. He had that surgery last July and is rehabbing now.

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