Here are some notes on injured Astros players and Jose Abreu.
Starting pitcher Jose Urquidy pitched a rehab start last Saturday for AA Corpus Christi and threw 2.2 innings, striking out three batters and allowing one walk. He also let up a home run in the second inning and gave up three hits and three runs overall. According to Astros’ MLB.com beat writer Brian McTaggart on the social media platform X, Urquidy will pitch for AAA Sugar Land on Friday, with a pitch limit of 75 pitches. After that, he should be able to rejoin the Astros on their upcoming road trip to Oakland and Seattle. Urquidy last pitched in a major league game during last year’s playoffs. He appeared in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Texas Rangers, going two innings while allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout.
Also, according to Brian McTaggart on X, starting pitcher Luis Garcia pitched a bullpen session off the mound at Minute Maid Park without facing any hitters before Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. The hope is that he’ll rejoin the team later in the season. Luis Garcia last pitched in a major league game on May 1, 2023 when he threw just a handful of pitches in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants before being taken out of the game.
Outfielder Chas McCormick got activated off the IL on Tuesday, and was immediately penciled into the starting lineup, as he hit ninth against the Los Angeles Angels, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Outfielder Trey Cabbage was sent back down to AAA Sugar Land in a corresponding move according to Brian McTaggart on X. In six rehab games for Sugar Land and Corpus Christi, McCormick hit .217 (5-for-23) with two doubles, an RBI, a steal, and six strikeouts.
Starting pitcher Lance McCullers threw bullpens on May 5th and on May 17th, according to Michael Schwab and McCullers’s Instagram account. He last pitched in a major league game during the 2022 playoffs. He started Game 3 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing seven runs on seven hits (including five home runs) in 4.1 innings while striking out five batters and walking one batter.
At the beginning of May, first baseman Jose Abreu was optioned to West Palm Beach to work on his swing and get his timing down. Abreu worked with Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell on correcting these issues in a low-stakes environment. According to an MLB.com article by Brian McTaggart, Abreu appeared in just three Gulf Coast League games, getting three hits in fourteen at-bats. He hit two doubles and struck out once. McTaggart reports that Abreu could return to the Astros as early as Friday when the club begins a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. However, he may play in a couple more minor-league games before rejoining the big-league club. Abreu started off the year terribly for the Astros, hitting .099 (7 hits in 71 at-bats) with just one extra-base hit, a double. He’s struck out 18 times and walked just three times and has a negative OPS+ of -20. His last appearance in a game for the Astros this season was April 28th when the Astros played the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City. The Astros won 8-2, but Abreu went 0-for-4 in the game with two ground outs and two fly outs.
