Astros Provide Surprising Update on Recently Optioned Pitcher

Typically, this diagnosis is the start of a pitcher's path to season-ending Tommy John Surgery. The inflammation in his elbow could also explain Burrows' issues this year. After being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in an offseason trade, Burrows has scuffled to a 5.99 ERA and 1.553 WHIP across 18 appearances. He leads MLB with nine losses and has allowed 21 home runs in 94.2 innings of work.

Unfortunately for Burrows, elbow injuries are nothing new. The 26-year-old underwent Tommy John Surgery back in 2023 when he was still with the Pirates and returned to make just one appearance in 2024 with the big-league team. In 2025, Burrows appeared in 23 games with Pittsburgh, where he accumulated a solid 3.94 ERA and 1.240 WHIP.

The injury to Burrows likely means that Cristian Javier will remain in the starting rotation, at least for now. Javier returned from a Grade 2 shoulder strain in early July, but was originally used out of the bullpen. This leaves the Astros with a starting rotation of Hunter Brown, Javier, Peter Lambert, and the struggling Tatsuya Imai and Spencer Arrighetti.

It does appear that Lance McCullers Jr. and Ronel Blanco could be on the verge of returning, which may give the team some other options while Burrows is out. Kai-Wei Teng is also rehabbing a sprained knee, but is expected to return shortly after the MLB All-Star break.

Following yesterday's game against the Texas Rangers , Houston optioned Alimber Santa back to Triple-A Sugar Land. Santa was the reliever that Houston recalled when they originally optioned Burrows on July 7.