This was supposed to be the year the Houston Astros stayed healthy.
After watching their 2025 rotation collapse in slow motion—seven pitchers on the injured list, 15 different starters used, only two pitching more than 100 innings all season—the refrain coming out of the clubhouse last September was consistent. Get healthy, stay healthy, and the talent would take care of the rest.
“We have a great team when we’re healthy,” Carlos Correa said after the Astros were eliminated. “On paper, we’re the team to beat. We’ve got to get our guys healthy.”
Thirteen games into 2026, the Astros find themselves staring at a scenario that looks painfully familiar.
Ace Hunter Brown is on the injured list with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain and has been told to refrain from throwing for a few weeks, with no timetable for return. Closer Josh Hader has yet to throw a pitch in the regular season, still working back from left biceps tendinitis. Cristian Javier exited his April 8 start with right shoulder tightness after just one inning and is being evaluated. Center fielder Jake Meyers left the same game mid-at-bat with lower back tightness and is returning to Houston for imaging, with an IL stint expected. Carlos Correa has missed two straight games due to illness.
That is five key contributors, including the ace and the closer, either sidelined or questionable, all within the first two weeks of the season.
The nightmares of 2025 are not ancient history. They are a recurring fever dream.
Last year’s injuries cost the Astros dearly. Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski both underwent Tommy John surgery early in the season and won’t be back until mid-2026 at the earliest. Brandon Walter had Tommy John surgery in September and won’t return until 2027. Arrighetti missed four months with a fractured thumb and was shut down again with elbow inflammation. Javier himself didn’t pitch until August, returning from his own Tommy John surgery. The Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and finished one game behind the Tigers for the final Wild Card spot.
The offseason response was thoughtful. They signed Tatsuya Imai to a three-year deal, acquired Mike Burrows from Pittsburgh, and brought in Kai-Wei Teng and Ryan Weiss as rotation depth. Lance McCullers Jr. returned after 2½ years on the injured list. The plan was to have Brown as the anchor, with enough depth to absorb the inevitable bumps.
What they could not plan for was losing the anchor on the fifth day of the season.
The offense has been nothing short of spectacular. Yordan Alvarez leads the majors in OPS. Jose Altuve has collected his 2,400th career hit. The Astros lead the majors in runs scored. If this lineup were paired with anything resembling a functional pitching staff, they would be one of the most dangerous teams in baseball.
Instead, they head to Seattle for a four-game series against the division-rival Mariners at 6-7, having lost four straight, with a rotation that now consists of McCullers, Imai, Burrows, and the question marks that surround everyone else. And if Meyers does land on the IL, the outfield depth options are grimmer than they appear—Zach Cole fractured a toe at Triple-A and is indefinitely sidelined, while Zach Dezenzo has not played all season due to right elbow soreness.
The bullpen has offered little relief. Bryan Abreu, tasked with closing games in Josh Hader’s absence, has been nothing short of a disaster—a 19.64 ERA through four appearances, including the walk-off home run he surrendered to Brent Rooker in Sunday’s 12-10 loss to the Athletics. The man who was supposed to be the bridge back to Hader has instead become another source of anxiety in a week full of them.
Spencer Arrighetti is at Triple-A Sugar Land, having struck out 13 batters without allowing an earned run in his first two starts, and a callup appears imminent. Hader is progressing and could face hitters as early as next week. Sousa and Pearson are working their way back. There is reinforcement on the way.
But reinforcement takes time, and the schedule does not wait. The Astros begin a 13-game stretch without a day off on Friday. Every game matters. Every arm matters. And right now, healthy arms are the one thing they simply do not have enough of.
The more things change …
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