SEATTLE — Astros right-hander Luis Garcia will need Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the regular season, general manager Dana Brown announced Friday. He dropped out of the game with only 8 balls.
Garcia’s loss comes as right-hander José Urquidi is on the injured reserve (discomfort in his right shoulder) and right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. struggles to recover from a forearm injury he suffered. A big blow to the already-thin Astros rotation, as the team activates right-handed JP France, who is scheduled to make his major league debut Saturday against the Mariners.
Garcia had gone scoreless in two straight games before suffering an elbow injury on Sunday. He started six games this year, going 2-2 with a 4.00 ERA, 10 walks and 31 strikeouts.
“That’s a huge blow,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker after Friday night’s 6-4 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. “I was hoping it was something different, something minor….a strong kid. He’s fine. I hope you can.”
Of the five pitchers who started at least 25 games for the Astros last year, only left-handed Flamber Valdes and right-handed Christian Javier are currently in Houston’s rotation. Garcia and Urchidi injured, Justin Verlander signs with Mets. McCullers started eight games at the end of last season after rehabbing an injury throughout the year.
In addition to Valdez, Javier and France, the Astros’ other healthy starters are rookies Hunter Brown and Brandon Beerak, who will make their ninth major league start since 2021 to appear in Sunday’s series finale. becomes.
The Astros don’t have much pitching depth even in the minor leagues to match the major leagues. The two starters at Triple-A Sugarland on the 40-man roster are dealing with injuries. He plans to rest a day or two, and right-hander Sean Dubin was placed on the seven-day injured list on Friday.
With that in mind, the Astros should almost certainly prioritize getting a starting pitcher before or even before the trade deadline. ) ranked sixth in the major leagues.
Garcia has been the Astros’ main starter for the past two years. He debuted in 2020 when he was called up from High A with 28 wins and 19 losses, a total of 69 games (63 starts), and an ERA of 3.61. Last year, he went 15-8 in 28 starts with a 3.72 ERA in the regular season. He pitched his fifth inning in relief, clinching his 1-0 victory in his 18th inning for the Astros over the Mariners and winning the American League Division his series in Seattle.
In 2021, Garcia finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting with an 11-8 record and a 3.48 ERA in 30 appearances (28 starts). , pitched 5 2/3 innings scoreless in a game that Houston won 5–0.