Houston Astros right-hander José Urquidy exited his minor-league rehab start on Friday with what the team described as “right forearm discomfort,” seemingly stalling his return to a depth-starved starting rotation.
Urquidy and catcher César Salazar summoned trainers to the mound after Urquidy’s 56th pitch — a 92.1 mph four-seam fastball.
Urquidy attempted to throw a warmup pitch, but lobbed the baseball slowly toward home plate before walking off the mound. Television cameras showed Urquidy flexing his fingers and wrist while entering the dugout. He had been scheduled to throw around 75 or 80 pitches.
Urquidy has been on the injured list all season after straining his forearm in the last two weeks of spring training. He made two previous rehab starts without issue, tossing 6 2/3 innings between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land.
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The Astros expected Friday to be Urquidy’s final rehab appearance before rejoining their rotation sometime next week. He maintained a 92.6 mph fastball velocity and showed no apparent signs of discomfort during three scoreless innings at Sugar Land’s Constellation Field.
Urquidy’s apparent setback could rob Houston of its remaining rotation depth. Neither Lance McCullers Jr. nor Luis Garcia is expected back until the All-Star break, leaving six healthy starters on Houston’s 40-man roster. One of them — Ronel Blanco — is serving a 10-game foreign substance suspension.
Blanco’s absence will end on Sunday against the Oakland A’s. The Astros presumed Urquidy would follow a few days later in Seattle, but that now seems highly unlikely.
A more prolonged absence would heighten the importance of both Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti, two starters who seemed dispensable upon Urquidy’s return. Brown has a 7.06 ERA across his first 10 appearances, but has benefitted from a new sinker he started throwing earlier this month.
Arrighetti, the team’s best pitching prospect, has a 7.16 ERA in seven major-league starts. Urquidy’s return could have paved the way for his demotion back to Sugar Land.
If Urquidy’s absence is prolonged, the Astros may have to ponder what is more productive for Arrighetti’s development — stowing him in the big-league bullpen as a swingman or allowing him to develop further as a starter in Triple A.
(Photo: Erik Williams / USA Today)
