Astros Reinstate Cristian Javier From 60-Day IL

The Astros announced that they have reinstated right-hander Cristian Javier from the 60-day injured list. Righty Miguel Ullola has been optioned to Triple-A as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, lefty Bennett Sousa has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Javier missed close to three months due to a shoulder strain. He has been rehabbing in the minors for the past month. Manager Joe Espada told reporters a few days ago that the Astros would reinstate Javier as a reliever and keep their current rotation mix of Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert, Mike Burrows, Tatsuya Imai and Spencer Arrighetti. Javier is fully stretched out, as his last rehab appearance got to 85 pitches over six innings. He’ll give the club a long relief option and could slot into the rotation if a need arises.

As for Sousa, this transaction is mostly a formality. He has been on the 15-day IL since May 6th due to elbow inflammation, so he is almost at 60 days already. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement in the very near future but that doesn’t seem like a real possibility. He pitched in a sim game a couple of days ago, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, but hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment. Since he has missed so much time, he will surely need a rehab outing or two before the club would consider reinstating him from the IL.