Astros right-hander Luis Garcia will have some sort of elbow surgery and miss the entire 2026 season. Manager Joe Espada relayed the info to reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
It’s a devastating blow for Garcia, who has already had a rough go of it in recent years. He has hardly pitched at all since the 2022 season. He made just six starts in 2023 before requiring Tommy John surgery. His attempts to return to the mound in 2024 repeatedly hit setbacks and he ended up missing that entire season.
He still wasn’t healthy to begin 2025 and he repeatedly hit more setbacks. He finally made it off the injured list in September. His first big league start in over two years went quite well, as he allowed three runs over six innings against the Angels. But in his second start, he didn’t make it out of the second frame. Facing the Blue Jays in Toronto, he called for the trainers and quickly departed. He was then placed on the 15-day IL due to elbow discomfort. He was transferred to the 60-day IL a few days later.
Given all the stops and starts of the past few years, it’s not especially surprising that something is amiss. Espada didn’t provide any specifics about what kind of surgery Garcia will require, but the fact that the procedure will wipe out his 2026 points to another ulnar collateral ligament operation. More details will likely be revealed after the procedure takes place.
The big question now is what’s over the horizon. By the time the 2026 campaign is done, Garcia will have essentially missed four seasons. Even if he does eventually get back to something resembling full health, there will be natural workload concerns after so much missed time.
Garcia is currently in his second arbitration season. He made $1.875MM both last year and this year. He can be retained via arbitration for 2026 but he’ll be non-tendered now that he’s going to miss the entire season.
Once he becomes a free agent, it’s possible that some club will sign him to a two-year deal. Such pacts are common for players rehabbing from notable surgeries. With such arrangements, the player get to bank some money while rehabbing. The signing team knows it won’t get anything in the first year of the deal but hopes that the investment pays off in the second season. Garcia does have a decent track record in the big leagues, with a 3.60 earned run average in 359 2/3 innings, but the exhausting extent of his recent time in the wilderness will surely make clubs hesitant to put money on him.
For the Astros, they already knew they weren’t getting anything out of Garcia this year, given that he was quickly put on the 60-day IL a few weeks ago. They probably didn’t have too much hope for him in 2026 but he’s now officially ruled out of next year’s plans as well.
They are about to lose Framber Valdez to free agency, so their on-paper 2026 rotation consists of Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier, with guys like Jason Alexander, Colton Gordon, AJ Blubaugh, J.P. France and others potentially in the mix. Spencer Arrighetti should have a spot if he’s healthy, though he is currently gathering opinions on his elbow. Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter each required Tommy John surgery and will be sidelined into next year.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images