The Astros placed Spencer Arrighetti on the 15-day injured list shortly before tonight’s game against the Yankees. The placement, which is retroactive to August 31, is due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. Houston selected reliever Jayden Murray onto the MLB roster in his place. Lefty John Rooney has been moved from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot. The Astros also activated Victor Caratini from the concussion list and optioned Chas McCormick to Triple-A Sugar Land this afternoon.
Arrighetti tossed 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Angels on Saturday. He apparently came out of that appearance with elbow soreness. The Astros waited until just before game time tonight to put him on the shelf. Injured list placements can be backdated for up to three days. The Astros determined Arrighetti will need at least another 12 days before he’s ready to pitch.
Houston activated Luis Garcia from the injured list on Monday. They intended to go to a six-man rotation, ideally affording an extra day of rest for Garcia and Cristian Javier with both pitchers just back from elbow surgery. This will force a change of plans. They can drop back to a five-man starting staff with Javier and Garcia following Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Jason Alexander. If they want to keep a six-man rotation, they could reverse course on the plan to move Lance McCullers Jr. to the bullpen. Colton Gordon is in the Triple-A rotation, while rookie AJ Blubaugh could build back to rotation work after beginning his MLB career in the bullpen.
Arrighetti has spent most of the season on the IL after breaking his thumb on a fluke injury when he was hit by a ball during batting practice in April. The second-year righty has been limited to seven starts and carries a 5.35 ERA across 35 1/3 innings. He took the ball 29 times a year ago, pitching to a 4.53 mark over 145 frames in his rookie season.
Murray gets his first major league opportunity at age 28. The 6’1″ righty has thrown 64 innings of 4.64 ERA ball over 50 appearances with Sugar Land. Murray has fanned 24% of opponents while issuing walks to nearly 11% of batters faced. He has pitched well of late, allowing only six earned runs in 23 innings going back to the beginning of July. A former Tampa Bay draftee, Murray was traded to the Astros while he was pitching in Double-A as part of the three-team Trey Mancini/Jose Siri deal in 2022.
Rooney, also 28, was acquired from Miami last month. He made his MLB debut on August 24 against Baltimore, giving up one run while recording four outs. Houston placed him on the injured list with elbow inflammation after that appearance, and he’s now out for the season. The Astros will need to reinstate him onto the 40-man roster or put him on waivers at the beginning of the offseason.
On the position player side, Caratini returns to split time behind the dish with Yainer Diaz. The Astros will keep third catcher César Salazar on the active roster as well. That means the first minor league stint of the season for McCormick, who is batting .210/.279/.290 across 116 plate appearances. McCormick was a valuable and underrated outfield piece over his first three seasons, but he’s amidst his second straight very poor year. He’s a long shot to make Houston’s playoff roster (if they qualify) and will be a non-tender candidate this winter.