Astros' offseason shuffling looks even smarter after brutal Luis Garcia injury update

While the Houston Astros had a very busy offseason, the one area they did not address all that much was the starting rotation. Both Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Verlander left via free agency, and Houston seemed to be banking on the return of some of their injured arms. The notable exception, of course, was the addition of former Chicago Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski, whom the Astros added as part of the Kyle Tucker trade.

Wesneski's numbers in the big leagues didn't jump off the page at the time of the trade. His career 3.93 ERA through 2024, mostly as a reliever, wasn't all that exciting. And his peripheral numbers weren't amazing outside of his ability to limit free passes. He doesn't miss a ton of bats and previously had issues avoiding the barrel the last few seasons.

However, Wesneski has had a good start to 2025 and that's great news because starting pitcherLuis Garcia will be shut down for at least another month as he continues to rehab from an injury he suffered last season. Making matters worse, Garcia was moved to the 60-day IL during the flurry of moves that brought Logan VanWey to the majors.

Emergence of Hayden Wesneski may save Astros after Luis Garcia's setback

The Astros had been optimistic that Garcia's recovery from Tommy John surgery was on track, and the team had hoped he would factor into the starting rotation plans early this season. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with elbow inflammation that will put him on the shelf for at least another month.

There is some good news in that there doesn't seem to be any structural damage to Garcia's elbow. Assuming he doesn't have any more setbacks, Garcia should be able to rejoin Houston's rotation at some point during the first half of the season. However, there is no guarantee of that with his new 60-day IL designation.

Unfortunately, that does place a lot of pressure on Wesneski. The Astros don't have a lot of replacements forcing their way into the conversation at the moment, and need Wesneski to be a reliable backend starter for the next month or so. If he falters, Houston may have to give a prospect like AJ Blubaugh an opportunity to find success.

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