“A really, really freak accident” is now Spencer Arrighetti described the batting-practice incident that resulted in a broken right thumb for the Astros pitcher. Last Monday, Arrighetti was in the outfield playing catch while the Mariners were taking BP, and a line drive from the batter’s box struck the right-hander before Arrighetti could properly react. As the pitcher told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, he instinctively covered his head with his hands after someone called out about the incoming line drive, only for the ball to hit Arrighetti’s thumb.
While a broken thumb is still a tough outcome, Arrighetti said “the road back is really clear-cut….We’re going to continually image it over the course of the next few weeks, and as soon as we feel it’s in a place where I’m ready to throw the ball, I’ll throw the ball again.” Houston general manager Dana Brown said on Friday that the team believes Arrighetti can be back in action in around six weeks’ time, if all goes well with the recovery process.
With Arrighetti sidelined, Ryan Gusto received the opportunity for his first MLB start, though things didn’t exactly go swimmingly for Gusto in Houston’s 4-1 loss to the Angels yesterday. Gusto allowed three earned runs over his four innings (72 pitches) of work, with two of those runs coming early when Gusto surrendered hits to his first three batters of the game.
The Astros have an off-day on Thursday, so the team technically doesn’t need a fifth starter again until April 22 if the other four starters are kept on their regular rest schedule. This gives the Astros some time to determine if Gusto will get another start, or if they could return him to bullpen action and use another starter in his stead. As noted by the Houston Chronicle’s Sam Warren, Brown said on Friday that Triple-A starter Colton Gordon could be called up (in what would be Gordon’s big league debut) to start if the club ultimately decides to keep Gusto in a relief role.
Gusto also made his MLB debut earlier this season, and he posted a 1.13 ERA over his first eight innings and four appearances out of Houston’s pen. While the Astros don’t want to close the door on Gusto’s potential as a starter in the near term, there is obvious appeal in deploying him as a quality multi-inning reliever. The fact that Arrighetti will miss at least the next six weeks does allow the Astros some flexibility in figuring how exactly they’ll address the fifth starter spot, as there’s enough time for Gusto to start games and then get moved back into a long relief or swingman role.
Brendan Rodgers hasn’t played in either of the Astros’ last two games due to some left hip soreness, manager Joe Espada told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters. The injury appears to be pretty minor, as Rodgers felt well enough to take some grounders before Saturday’s game. Rodgers is off to a respectable start (.250/.351/.313) over his first 37 plate appearances in a Houston uniform, as he went from minor league signing to starting second baseman due to the Astros’ decision to use Jose Altuve primarily as a left fielder.