Astros place Peacock on IL, activate Taylor

HOUSTON – The Astros placed veteran right-hander Brad Peacock back on the injured list Friday and activated left-hander Blake Taylor prior to the game against the D-backs at Minute Maid Park.

Taylor, a rookie, had a 2.12 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 11 walks in 17 innings before going on the IL on Sept. 6 with left elbow soreness.

“He’s a big part of this club,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Taylor. “Peacock was looked at yesterday and was looked at again today, and I don’t’ have the results yet.”

Baker said Peacock’s injury is the same shoulder discomfort that has plagued him since last season and has limited him to three game on the mound this year. Baker admitted Peacock -- the longest-tenured member of the pitching staff -- likely won’t figure into the Astros’ postseason plans, and that also could spell an end to his time in Houston. Peacock is a free agent after this year.

“It’d be tough to get him ready,” Baker said. “He just says he wants to get it looked at. It’s not right. If it’s not right physically, it’s probably not right mentally, either. I’m just hoping they find out what it is so we can get this thing right.”

Acquired by the Astros from the A’s on Feb. 4, 2013, along with Chris Carter and Max Stassi in a deal that sent Jed Lowrie to Oakland, Peacock has appeared in 178 games (81 starts) for the Astros, including a strong season in ’17, when he went 10-2 with a 3.22 ERA as a starter and 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA as a reliever. He saved Game 3 of the 2017 World Series with 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

Taylor, meanwhile, admitted he tried to pitch through left elbow soreness when the best course of action should have been to alert the trainers and Baker sooner.

“I went into that, I said [to myself], ‘Hey, you can get through this,’ and it came to a point it was affecting my pitching, affecting a lot of the stuff I didn’t realize was going to get affected by this,” Taylor said.

“Being a rookie, I wasn’t quite sure how to go about. That’s not an excuse in any way, shape or form, but it was a big learning process for me. I learned a lot in the conversations I had with the training staff, with Dusty, with our pitching coach, with some players that have been through something like this.”

Worth noting

Baker said ace Justin Verlander was scheduled to throw another simulated game Monday while the Astros are on the road. Verlander, who suffered a forearm strain on Opening Day, threw 75 pitches at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, including 24 in a simulated game.