“You Can’t Cry About It”: Dana Brown On Houston’s Relentless Injury Wave
CLEVELAND — Nine players placed on the injured list in 17 days. Seventeen players dealing with injuries overall, an MLB high. And the season is not yet four weeks old. The Houston Astros have been here before. In 2025, 26 players spent time on the…
Astros Pitching Crisis: 10 Starters in 21 Games
What was supposed to be the Astros’ biggest strength has become a nightly scramble. Three weeks into the 2026 season, injuries have torn through Houston’s pitching staff, forcing the club to piece together games with call-ups, short starts, and an…
Astros Injury Avalanche Rekindles 2025 Nightmare
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…
Astros Face Roster Crunch as De Los Santos Nears Return
WEST SACRAMENTO — The Houston Astros received good news on the injury front Saturday, but it comes with a complication. Reliever Enyel De Los Santos made back-to-back outings for Double-A Corpus Christi this week as he continues his buildup from a right…
Astros Get Encouraging Injury Updates on Peña, Hader Ahead of Road Trip
The Houston Astros head out on a 10-game road trip to Sacramento, Denver, and Seattle beginning Friday, and manager Joe Espada offered some cautiously encouraging injury news before Wednesday’s series finale against the Red Sox. The most immediate update…
The Closer Question: Breaking Down the 2026 Astros Bullpen
Five games into the 2026 season, the Houston Astros bullpen is already the most pressing storyline in the organization, and it may stay that way for a while. Josh Hader, the anchor of the back end, is on the injured list with biceps tendinitis. General…
AJ Blubaugh May Be the Astros’ Most Valuable Bullpen Arm — And Nobody’s Talking About It
While questions swirl about who isn’t in the Houston Astros bullpen this season—Framber Valdez in Detroit, Josh Hader on the injured list, Bennett Sousa sidelined—AJ Blubaugh has quietly made a case as the most valuable piece nobody saw coming. Blubaugh…
Five or Six? The Astros’ Rotation Decision Has Real Consequences
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Joe Espada has been upfront about wanting to open the season with six starters. The math, however, is starting to complicate that preference. With Josh Hader beginning the year on the injured list, Bryan Abreu slides into the…
Astros Closer Josh Hader to Open 2026 Season on Injured List; Bryan Abreu Expected to Handle Ninth Inning
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Houston Astros manager Joe Espada confirmed Wednesday that closer Josh Hader will begin the 2026 season on the injured list as he continues recovering from biceps inflammation. In his absence, hard-throwing right-hander Bryan…
Astros Closer Josh Hader Begins Bullpen Work with Opening Day in Doubt
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Josh Hader threw his first bullpen session of the spring Tuesday, a modest but meaningful step in his recovery from biceps inflammation. Whether he’ll be ready when the Astros open the season March 26 against the Angels remains an…
