Key Astros starter to undergo Tommy John surgery

A bad season is getting even worse for the Houston Astros.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported Tuesday that Astros righty Cristian Javier will be undergoing Tommy John surgery later this week. 

Javier, who landed on the injured list due to “right forearm discomfort” late last month, will miss the rest of the 2024 and good chunk of the 2025 season as a result. Rome adds that a “best-case scenario” for Javier is a return late in 2025.

The 27-year-old Javier is one of Houston’s top righty arms. He helped the team win it all in 2022, leading the charge of a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Javier then ascended to a role as the No. 2 starter for the Astros last season, going 10-5 with a 4.56 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 31 starts. This season, Javier was 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts but missed time with neck discomfort before returning for a handful of starts and then going on IL again with the forearm issue.

For the third-place Astros, who are an uncharacteristic 27-34 this season, this is the latest body shot that their rotation has taken. 

Starters JP France (shoulder), Luis Garcia (elbow) and Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm) are all currently injured while a fourth starting pitcher also recently got bad news on an arm problem of his own. 

The Astros are limping into the summer and will have some tough decisions to make ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.