HOUSTON ¨C 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.