SEATTLE -- The diagnosis of a broken right thumb for Spencer Arrighetti before Monday¡¯s series-opener at T-Mobile Park didn¡¯t leave much in doubt when the Astros left the yard after a 4-3 loss to the Mariners, but the club made it official Tuesday afternoon, placing Arrighetti on the 15-day injured list.
Arrighetti was drilled by a line drive hit by a Mariners batter during batting practice, while he was playing catch in the outfield. He went in for X-rays at the stadium, then left for the hotel and flew back to Houston on Tuesday.
¡°I spoke with him yesterday before he left for the hotel, and I have not talked to him today,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°I¡¯m sure that there are a lot of emotions running through him right now, so I want to give him a little bit of space, and I¡¯ll give him a call today or tomorrow.¡±
Espada said that he was going to talk with the training staff, and would have an update regarding a timeline for his return after Tuesday¡¯s game.
To fill Arrighetti¡¯s spot on the active roster, the Astros recalled reliever Luis Contreras -- who had been optioned Monday and flown back to Texas from Minnesota after throwing 2 1/3 innings against the Twins on Sunday, only to turn around and get on another flight to Seattle.
Contreras has made nine appearances since debuting for the Astros last June, with an 8.74 ERA to his name, and a 1.59 career WHIP.
The addition of a reliever to a bullpen which only covered one inning after Hayden Wesneski gave them seven much-needed frames, shows how the Astros are handling the staff: one day at a time, all hands on deck.
Framber Valdez, who had been battling an illness in recent days, was good enough to start Tuesday¡¯s game.
¡°He walked out of here yesterday, came to my office and said, ¡®I¡¯m ready to go tomorrow,¡¯¡± Espada said. ¡°He kind of knew after that loss the importance of today¡¯s game, and we need our ace to step up and give us a strong outing.¡±
The bullpen behind Valdez came into Tuesday relatively fresh, though it was down a piece after the Astros traded Rafael Montero to the Braves for a PTBNL. Montero, a 34-year-old righty, spent the last five seasons with Houston and had allowed two runs across his first three appearances of ¡®25. Houston called up Bennett Sousa from Triple-A Sugar Land to replace him, but he still has to get to Seattle.
Hunter Brown is slated to pitch the series finale Wednesday. After that, though, there will be a fair few question marks waiting when the Astros get back to Houston for a weekend series against the Angels. Arrighetti¡¯s spot would come up Friday, for the series opener.
¡°We want to get through today¡¯s game,¡± Espada said. ¡°Hunter will pitch tomorrow. We have Thursday off, which will allow us to have some flexibility setting up our rotation against the Angels. Today, and how the next two days go, will set up our rotation.¡±
One in-house option to fill a rotation spot could be Ryan Gusto, Houston¡¯s No. 21 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. The 26-year-old right-hander made his MLB debut in relief just over a week ago and has appeared twice out of the bullpen since, with one earned run allowed in seven innings. He¡¯s a starter by trade, though, with 56 of his 83 Minor League appearances being starts. Last season, he made 26 starts for Triple-A Sugar Land and finished the year with a 3.70 ERA and141 strikeouts in 148 1/3 innings.
¡°He¡¯s definitely a guy we¡¯re considering to start against the Angels, yes,¡± Espada said.
Espada also addressed the freak nature of Arrighetti¡¯s injury, which came during the completely normal pregame flow on a baseball field. Last April in Pittsburgh, Brewers reliever Jakob Junis -- now with the Guardians -- was hit in the neck by a batted ball in a similar situation and was taken to the hospital.
¡°This is a freak accident,¡± Espada said. ¡°There are so many changes that happen in this game all the time, I like guys going out there to play catch whenever. Starters, if they like to play catch at a different times during the day. No, I¡¯m not going to be putting up screens to block the pitchers or having the pitchers get here at 1 o¡¯clock so they can [play] catch. No, it¡¯s a freak accident, it happens and we¡¯ll move on and we¡¯ll get Spencer back."