Joe Espada clarifies Astros' Spencer Arrighetti Opening Day roster move

When spring training began, Spencer Arrighetti was one of the top candidates to fill one of the final starting rotation spots for the Houston Astros. Coming off a disappointing and injury-plagued 2025 campaign that limited him to just 35 and 1/3 innings over seven starts and a 5.35 ERA, the 26-year-old entered 2026 as a breakout candidate.

While there were some indications Arrighetti could win a job, he posted a 6.75 ERA this spring over just eight innings of work, leading to a demotion to Triple-A Sugar Land. The announcement might take the wind out of some of his most ardent supporters' sails, but as Joe Espada explains, everything is not as it seems.

Scheduling quirks have Houston going through a gauntlet early on, with the club playing 26 games in 28 days and throwing plans for a six-man rotation in doubt. Now, with Opening Day upon us, the club has made a decision as to how many starters they'll carry. To start, the team will only be using a five-man rotation, but once things really heat up on April 10, it'll expand to a six-man unit.

Who will be that sixth starter? When asked if it would be Arrighetti, the skipper replied, “That’s an easy (answer): Yes.”

Spencer Arrighetti will soon return to the Houston Astros' rotation as the sixth starter

If you noticed, Arrighetti's eight spring innings are on the low end for a starter. The right-hander missed some time in camp to be with his wife as the family welcomed twins into the world. That diversion has left his arm less built up than normal at this point.

Rather than keep him in the bullpen until needed in the rotation, the Astros believed the better move was to send him to Sugar Land to further ramp up until the need for the sixth starter comes into focus.

“Long-term, we’re thinking about 162 games (and) keeping him built up,” Espada said. “Also, being smart about how we navigate the first 28 games of the season. Trying to put everyone in a position to succeed and, I think right now, that’s the best way to create our roster.”

With his return imminent, any worries that he had fallen out of favor with the club can be put to bed. While he'll be the last guy in the rotation for now, there's an argument to be made that he's one of Houston's most important starters long-term.

Lance McCullers Jr. is very fragile and is in the final year of his contract. Tatsuya Imai can opt out at season's end. We're still not sure what we can expect from Cristian Javier. Meanwhile, Arrighetti has four years of team control remaining and the foundation to be an excellent starting pitcher in this league.

His extension is elite, ranking in the 96th percentile a year ago, and makes his fastball play up. He has a six-pitch arsenal, including a couple of breaking balls that have the potential to be devastating and more than enough variation in his offerings to keep hitters off balance. If it all comes together for him, he could be a high-strikeout front-end starter eventually.

It's not unreasonable to feel as if he could reach that ceiling this season. So, while a demotion might seem like a lack of confidence, as we can see in the nuance in this case, it's actually the Astros doing everything they can to bring about a breakout for Arrighetti. As 2026 unfolds, he'll be a fascinating player to watch.