Joe Espada's non-answer regarding pair of injured pitchers tells Astros fans everything they need to know
The Houston Astros have had a miserable first two months of the 2024 season, holding a 25-32 record entering play on Friday after losing three of four against the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners.
It's never fair to fully blame a season's-worth of struggles on injuries, but this Astros team has been as banged up as any, particularly with their rotation. Their top three leaders in starts are Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, and Spencer Arrighetti. Blanco wasn't supposed to be in their rotation to begin the year, and Arrighetti wasn't even in the majors.
Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander are healthy now, but they've missed time. Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. haven't thrown a pitch yet this season. Jose Urquidy also hasn't pitched for Houston this season but was working his way back from his injury before suffering a recent setback. Astros manager Joe Espada spoke about the status of Urquidy and Cristian Javier who just recently landed on the IL. What he said (or what he didn't say) does not sound promising for Astros fans.
More bad news could be on the horizon for the Astros
After saying there would be an update on Cristian Javier and José Urquidy today, Joe Espada did not have one. He said he met with both pitchers today and wanted to “give them their space” while awaiting a second opinion. Asked if their UCLs are intact, Espada didn’t comment
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 31, 2024
There was supposed to be an update on both Javier and Urquidy on Friday, but the Astros rookie manager did not have one. The only information he gave is that he met with both pitchers today and wanted to "give them their space" while the team waits for a second opinion. When asked if their UCLs were intact, Espada refused to answer.
Assuming the worst is never fun, but how can you not with this kind of quote? Espada wanted to give his pitchers space and refused to answer a simple question like if their UCLs are intact. Again, never fun to assume the worst, but if they were intact, why wouldn't Espada just say that?
The Astros are known for having tons of starting pitching depth, and they do to an extent this season, but there are only so many injuries that a team can sustain, especially with starting pitching. Javier, Urquidy, McCullers, and Garcia all being on the IL right now makes Houston one starter shy of fielding an entire MLB rotation on their IL. That's so hard to come back from.
Hopefully, the next time Espada talks about these injured pitchers we'll hear good news. Unfortunately, after what was revealed on Friday, it's hard to picture that happening.
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