It has been tough sledding for this Houston Astros pitching staff as of late.
They have seen multiple starting pitchers suffer season-ending injuries the past few years, with Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and J.P. France all undergoing major surgical procedures.
Now, another name has been added to that list.
According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, manager Joe Espada shared that Hayden Wesneski will be undergoing Tommy John surgery, ending his 2025 campaign.
This is a tough blow for the Astros.
Wesneski was a key part of the return package in the Kyle Tucker trade this past winter, with Houston believing he would be a featured starting pitcher for them in their rotation.
Despite having an up and down career in the Majors prior to being acquired by the Astros, the young right-hander seemed like he was going to make that projection come true with a solid 3.86 ERA across his first five starts of the campaign.
But when he gave up a season-high four earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 5, he was transferred to the 15-day injured list with what was deemed to be right elbow discomfort.
Further testing must have revealed an issue with his UCL, so getting Tommy John surgery to repair it is the course of action he will take.
Whether it's the full Tommy John surgery, the new internal brace procedure or a complete repair hasn't been revealed at this time, so it's unclear what the initial recovery period might look like. But the Wesneski is now out for the remainder of this season and could miss a good chunk of the 2026 campaign, if not all of it.
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