Joe Espada's optimistic Framber Valdez take comes back to haunt Astros

As if the Houston Astros could absorb another major blow, they were dealt one on Monday with Framber Valdez being scratched from his start due to elbow soreness. Valdez was supposed to take the ball in the series finale against the Rangers in a big early-season matchup, but reported pain while playing catch and decided to shut it down.

An elbow injury was the last thing that Astros fans wanted to hear, but manager Joe Espada did his best to try and calm the fanbase down. The first-year manager said that since Houston didn't put him on the IL immediately, it's a good sign. Well, that optimism didn't last long.

Ahead of their game on Tuesday, the Astros placed Valdez on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation. Now is it okay to panic?

Joe Espada's optimistic Framber Valdez take immediately comes back to haunt Astros

Just one day after saying that it's a good sign that Valdez hasn't been placed on the IL yet, the Astros lose their southpaw for the next couple of weeks at least. Poor timing for that kind of statement, I guess.

Valdez joins Justin Verlander, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., and Jose Urquidy on the IL. That's a strong five-man rotation sitting on the sidelines.

Astros fans had little reason to believe that elbow soreness wouldn't result in an IL stint for Valdez, and here we are. All we can hope for now is that the injury isn't any worse than what's been revealed. Unfortunately, with how things have progressed for other pitchers who have suffered elbow injuries recently like Shane Bieber and Eury Perez, Astros fans have every reason to expect the worst.

Placing Valdez on the IL is undoubtedly the right call and one that arguably should've been made before Espada had a chance to act as if everything was fine. This Astros team needs Valdez to be healthy and at the top of his game if they want to make another deep postseason run, so hopefully this stint on the IL isn't too long and helps that elbow heal.