Astros injury woes continue with another pitcher headed to the IL

It's safe to say that the 2024 season has not gone the way that the Houston Astros expected it would. They were expected to compete for a World Series title, but have not had a .500 record since they began the season 0-0.

Several individuals are to blame for Houston's shortcomings, but nothing is to blame more than the bevy of injuries that they've had to deal with, especially on the starting pitching side. The Astros have had to dig deeper into their pitching depth than they could've imagined having to in late May, and that's a big reason why they're now 24-30 on the season.

The injury woes only continue to get worse for the Astros as Cristian Javier was placed on the IL for the second time this season before Monday's game.

Astros can't catch a break, lose another starting pitcher due to injury

Javier already missed almost a month due to neck discomfort in late April through early May and is now out with right forearm discomfort. That kind of diagnosis is concerning, as forearm discomfort can often lead to other things.

Javier has been limited to seven starts this season due to his injury woes but has pitched pretty well when he's taken the mound, posting a 3.89 ERA in 34.2 innings of work. His bloated ERA has more to do with one rough outing in Detroit in which he allowed seven runs and recorded just four outs.

The 27-year-old is just one of several starters to miss time due to injury this season. Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander are healthy now but they've missed time. Even Ronel Blanco missed time after getting suspended. Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr., and Luis Garcia have all been out all season and there's no telling when Houston will get either one of those arms back after Urquidy suffered a setback.

The Astros are still very much alive thanks in large part to an underperforming AL West division, but it's going to be very tough for them to remain afloat if their starting pitchers cannot stay healthy.