Latest Spencer Arrighetti injury update makes Astros spring training a real battle

Most Houston Astros fans are very curious to see exactly how the team's rotation shakes out by the end of camp. Unless disaster strikes, Hunter Brown will be leading the charge, and Tatsuya Imai will have to prove that his stuff plays against big league hitters. After that, you have the newly acquired Mike Burrows, followed by a bunch of other arms that come with some injury red flags. One such injured arm is Spencer Arrighetti, who recently gave a positive update as to how his recovery is going.

2025 was a lost year for Arrighetti. First, he broke his thumb in a freak accident during batting practice, which took a while to heal. When he finally recovered from that, he had to build his innings back up, only to have to hit the injured list again with an elbow issue.

Thankfully, it sounds like Arrighetti is on the other side of his injury issues, finally. In comments relayed by the Houston Chronicle's Lean Vann, Arrighetti talked about how well his offseason is going on multiple levels while also downplaying any injury concerns heading into 2026.

Spencer Arrighetti reveals that his 2025 elbow issue was never considered that serious and that he is ready to reclaim rotation spot

While Arrighetti was quick to point out that he knows nothing is guaranteed when it comes to his roster spot, he sounds very ready to compete for it. When talking about his elbow, Arrighetti recently said, "...as you looked at the scans and everything, the ligaments are all good ... there was never a tear." He also said that surgery was never on the table and that he just needed some rest and some rehab.

It certainly is in Arrighetti's best interest to be at full strength when camp starts, because Houston's competition for rotation spots looks like it is going to be fierce. Not only is Cristian Javier looking to rebound from his own injury woes, but Lance McCullers Jr., Ryan Weiss, and even Nate Pearson are going to be competing as well, and that doesn't even account for the MiLB guys like AJ Blubaugh, Miguel UIlola, and Colton Gordon, among others.

Given Arrighetti's previous experience in the majors as well as the Astros' plan for a six-man rotation, his odds are still pretty good even with all of the competition if he is healthy. However, if there is a lot of rust or Arrighetti isn't quite healthy enough to start, don't be surprised whatsoever if he is on the outside looking in.