SEATTLE -- The Astros placed right-handed pitcher Cristian Javier on the 15-day injured list with a grade 2 shoulder strain and center fielder Jake Meyers on the 10-day injured list with a grade 2 oblique strain prior to Friday’s series opener against the Mariners at T-Mobile Field.
Javier is the second member of Houston’s starting rotation to hit the injured list this week with a grade 2 shoulder strain, joining ace right-hander Hunter Brown, who has been shut down from throwing and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Astros manager Joe Espada said Javier’s injury and timeline are similar to Brown’s.
“Same general area of the shoulder,” he said. “We’ll give those guys some time and we’ll re-evaluate them in a few weeks.”
Javier and Meyers were both injured in Wednesday’s 9-1 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. Javier said he first felt his shoulder tighten up when pitching to the last batter of the first inning, and Meyers came out of the game moments later during an at-bat.
The Astros selected the contracts of right-hander J.P. France and outfielder Taylor Trammell to take the place of Javier and Meyers, while transferring right-hander Ronel Blanco to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster, which is now full. France gives Espada a much-needed long relief option in the bullpen.
“He was throwing the ball really well in Triple-A and he threw the ball really well at the end of camp,” Espada said. “Out of the ‘pen, he can give us multiple innings and I like the fact he can get both righties and lefties out. He gives us some flexibility to be creative in the middle of an inning. We’ll see how we’ll use him here right now.”
With two starting pitchers landing on the injured list and the team expected to go to a six-man rotation in the coming days, the Astros have yet to announce their rotation beyond Tatsuya Imai on Friday and Lance McCullers Jr. on Saturday. Spencer Arrighetti, who threw six innings Thursday for Triple-A Sugar Land and struck out seven while allowing two runs and four hits, will almost certainly make his next start for Houston next week.
A candidate to start Sunday is Jason Alexander, who threw seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk against Tacoma -- the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate -- on Tuesday. The Astros won nine consecutive Alexander starts at one point last summer, and he was 4-0 with a 3.27 ERA on the road last year. Seattle did rock him for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings on Sept. 21 in Houston, though.
Javier was a mainstay in the Astros’ rotation in 2022-23, a period over which he posted a 3.59 ERA and helped Houston win the 2022 World Series. But he only made seven starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, returning for eight starts in ’25, over which he posted a 4.62 ERA. Entering Wednesday’s start in Colorado, Javier had given up six runs in each of his two starts (12.96 ERA) this season.
Meyers, who lost significant time last year with a calf injury, was slashing .243/.326/.378 with a homer as the Astros’ starting center fielder. The Astros have options in center with rookie Brice Matthews, Joey Loperfido and Trammell.