SEATTLE -- Spencer Arrighetti was due a dose of good news, and Tuesday night, he finally got a bit, learning that he won¡¯t need surgery to repair his broken right thumb.
Arrighetti was hurt prior to Monday¡¯s series opener when he was hit by a batting practice fly ball while playing catch in the T-Mobile Park outfield. He underwent X-rays at the stadium before the game that revealed the break, flew back to Houston to undergo further testing Tuesday morning and was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Monday.
¡°We want to take it one step at a time, but no surgery is great news,¡± manager Joe Espada said before Wednesday¡¯s series finale in Seattle.
Espada said he got the news from the training staff Tuesday night after Houston¡¯s 2-1 win in 12 innings.
Arrighetti¡¯s next step is rest. Espada said he¡¯ll be in a cast for two to two-and-a-half weeks before undergoing further imaging to see how the injury is healing. After that, he¡¯ll begin physical therapy to regain strength.
¡°After that, if everything looks fine, we can probably start talking about him starting to play catch,¡± Espada said. ¡°He was upbeat this morning, I think it¡¯s good news.¡±
Espada said Arrighetti¡¯s injury is at the base of his thumb. This early in the season, they¡¯re not going to rush him back into action.
¡°As a baseball man, you¡¯ve got to get your thumb under that baseball to be able to spin it to do what we ask him to do on the mound,¡± he said. ¡°That thing needs to be healed.¡±
Hunter Brown started Wednesday¡¯s finale in Seattle. Before the game, Espada didn¡¯t name any probables for the Astros¡¯ upcoming home series against the Angels; Arrighetti¡¯s spot in the rotation will come up Friday for the opener.
An added bit of last-minute reinforcements for the bullpen came in on Wednesday -- probably -- after five relievers combined to cover six innings in Tuesday¡¯s marathon and the Astros lost another arm after trading Rafael Montero to the Braves. Bennett Sousa was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land late Tuesday, though he hadn¡¯t arrived at T-Mobile Park by the time Espada spoke to the media two hours before first pitch. In four appearances this season with Sugar Land, Sousa has thrown five scoreless innings with two hits allowed.
Houston also has Logan VanWey available in the bullpen after calling him up Monday. He is set to make his MLB debut after three years in the Minors.