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It is frankly stunning how much has gone wrong for the Houston Astros in 2024. Not only do they sit with a 27-34 record going into Tuesday night after being heavy favorites to make another deep postseason run, but they have also been snakebitten by injuries (although not quite as badly as the Rangers, who may have a curse on them).
Unfortunately, Jose Urquidy's arm issues were not the end of those injury issues as Cristian Javier's future had remained in doubt.
Javier has dealt with injuries off and on this season and hadn't pitched since May 21 against the Angels. Rumors began to swirl that both he and Jose Urquidy were seeking second opinions on their arm issues, which is almost never good news. Sadly, that proved to be accurate.
It was reported Tuesday night that Javier will undergo Tommy John surgery as well.
Astros starter Cristian Javier will undergo Tommy John surgery on Thursday, source tells @TheAthletic. Story here - https://t.co/qBwNmnqUjP
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 4, 2024
Astros News: Cristian Javier to have Tommy John surgery, ending his season
To say this is a blow to the Astros is a gross understatement. Not only is Javier one of the Astros' best young pitchers, but Houston committed $64 million to Javier on a five-year extension. With Tuesday's news, the Astros lose at least one of those years of control over Javier and without a clear minor league replacement in tow.
If there is good news here, it is that the Astros have operated reasonably well without Javier and probably expected that there could be bad news coming. Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti have been solid in filling the voids left by Javiers and Urquidy during the month of May, and hopefully that good work can continue. Houston could also welcome back Luis Garcia to the rotation in the not-too-distant future this summer.
Both Javier and Urquidy's injuries make it very clear that if Dana Brown truly doesn't want to sell at the trade deadline, then Houston is going to have to aggresively acquire some starting pitching help. The sellers' market hasn't fully materialized just yet, but it is pretty much a mortal lock that the front office is checking in on guys like Jesus Luzardo as we speak.