Astros left-hander Framber Valdez was scratched from today’s start due to soreness on the top of his left elbow after playing catch, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to relay the news. While the club is in Arlington to face the Rangers, Valdez is in Houston to meet with team doctors, manager Joe Espada said.
At this point, it’s not yet clear how significant the injury is and Valdez has not yet been placed on the injured list, but it’s nonetheless a concerning development for a number of reasons. For one thing, there has been an unfortunate streak of pitching injuries of late, with stars like Shane Bieber and Eury Pérez recently requiring season-ending surgeries. Another big name, Spencer Strider, is still trying to discover the severity of his injury but there is concern that he could be set to go under the knife as well. Guys like Shohei Ohtani, Jacob deGrom, Sandy Alcántara, Robbie Ray, Shane McClanahan and many more are each recovery from undergoing surgery last year.
The litany of injuries has led to a recent dispute between the MLBPA and the league, with the players concerned about the effects of the pitch clock while the league believes increased velocity and spin in the modern game are to blame. It’s still not clear that Valdez is going to be following those other pitchers to a significant surgery, with both Espada and general manager Dana Brown downplaying the concern, per Rome. But the fact that another star player is dealing with a possible elbow injury could only add to the ongoing tension.
Beyond the league-wide implications, it’s also a scary development for the Astros, as Valdez has emerged as a huge part of the club’s success in recent years. He has a 3.17 earned run average in 617 innings dating back to the start of the 2020 season. He struck out 23.8% of batters faced in that time, walking just 8% of them while keeping the ball on the ground at a massive 62.8% clip.
Subtracting that kind of quality performance would hurt any rotation but it would be especially noteworthy for the Astros at this moment in time. They are already without Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia Jr., both of whom underwent elbow surgery last year and each is still working back to health. More recently, each of Justin Verlander, José Urquidy and Shawn Dubin landed on the injured list due to injuries. Verlander is getting close to a return, having begun a rehab assignment over the weekend, but it’s clearly a less than ideal time for another domino to fall so they will obviously be hoping that Valdez isn’t seriously hurt. For now, Blair Henley has been called up to make a start while Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown, J.P. France and Ronel Blanco fill out the rest of the rotation.
For Valdez personally, he’s in his penultimate season of club control, currently slated for free agency after 2025. In the worst-case scenario where he requires Tommy John surgery and misses over a year, it would mean that he would be heading into the open market with hardly any innings pitched in the two seasons prior to becoming a free agent.
It’s worth reiterating that none of that has come to pass yet and Valdez is not even on the injured list. Still, even this small update of some soreness clearly has the potential to set off some ripple effects if it turns to be something serious, given the potential impacts on the Astros, on Valdez himself and the tumultuous situation between MLB and the MLBPA.
Uh oh! Not another pitcher
This should stay the feud between players and MLB over elbow injuries: they will unite to rally behind Framber
Here we go again….
#freethestickystuff
Make sure to use a tube sock
At this rate MLB will be out of pitchers by the all-star break
@JayHeck2158
Well, they still have Bauer waiting in the wings. He could probably pitch against himself.
Bauer is a NON OPTION. Hope he stays out of baseball forever
simp
Why?
@WSnotAstros2017 Absolutely Bauer is an option! Teams choose not to sign him. That choice wasn’t made for them. There’s a difference.
They need to do something. This is getting ridiculous with l the arm injuries
In an effort to stem the tide of pitchers needing TJS so far this season, Rob Manfred has ordered MLB to ramp up the well-wishing for players that fall in this category.
Is that like “thoughts and prayers?”
What the heck r they gonna do u act like the mlb controls the injuries
At some point, there needs to be an honest conversation on how pitchers pitch. They are going full throttle every pitch. This causes the majority of injuries.
It could be the 35-40M dollar guaranteed salaries they’re hoping to land.
Trevor Bauer is grinning and rubbing his hands together waiting to see Which team blinks first. and that whole thing about Be willing to pitch for league minimum, ain’t gonna happen anymore.
He went to Mexico.
Probably having tequila shots with Julio Urias right now
Roberto Osuna too
So in this scenario it goes from “no one wants him for the league minimum even on a minor league contract” to a bidding war in one day?
The fantasies from Bauer fanboys are surely interesting
Why do you dislike Bauer soo much? He’s actually innocent of the allegations but guys like Michael Vick are not? I wonder if you just dislike Bauer for other reasons?
He’s guilty of something. The arbitrator who heard the results of MLB’s investigation (which has not been released publicly), and then heard Bauer’s response, ended the suspension, but upheld that the longest suspension in league history was warranted. That Bauer is keeping relatively quiet on the issue, leads me to believe that he doesn’t want MLB to make those findings public.
Why do you defend Bauer so much? it seems like it could be for other reasons?
@stymeedone No he is not guilty of anything. MLB has pretty broad authority to suspend a player.
Hopefully whooping it up elsewhere. Not to return to baseball EVER. Think new manager. Same old pitching and hitting staff with Astros. They are working their staff to death.
Espada has no clue. Makes me wonder with his interviews elsewhere that they saw right threw him as would not fit as a manager
Again, why?
Because you were offended???
He is offending. Bauer needs to stay gone. Go to Japan or Korea and play ball he can
Teams have shown they would rather comb the local high school fields than give bauer another cent..its been over for a while hes done and will soon age out of even these message boards
Rich Hill and Zack Greinke are getting real excited right about now.
Realistically… why come back? They’re healthy, loaded and not exactly spring chickens. Enjoy retirement, if even unofficially for now.
Because some people actually enjoy throwing baseballs for a living.
Yeah, I get it. I used to as well, and they’ll do what they want to do, but looking around watching people dropping like flies… will be interesting to see what they do!
See article about the pitch clock…
Should have traded him this offseason to restock their farm. Better trade Bregman before he gets hurt. They need to restock that farm in the worst way and personally, Framber and Bregman are the way to do it quickly.
Verlander, urquidy, Garcia, McCullers, Valdez, entire rotation on the DL. But manfred says not to worry everything‘s under control lol. It’s not the pitch clock lol. It’s not MLB‘s fault. he has to be telling the truth, right? He’d never lie to us.
Why would a pitch clock have anything to do with elbow injuries? Here’s an idea – the Astros have played a TON of postseason games the past 3 years. Maybe, just maybe, playing 170 to 175 games per year is the reason, rather than a pitch clock.
I say this because pitchers used to work incredibly fast. Jim Palmer was famous for how fast he worked. More recently, Greg Maddux worked very quickly. The extra 3 seconds between pitches is much less likely a candidate than having to pitch an extra 15 to 25 innings.
Yup, post seasons kill pitching staffs. A known fact, over pitch clock guess work.
It’s not the pitch clock. It’s nonsense to believe that the pitch clock is a substantial factor as there’s literally zero evidence in support of the notion. It’s spin rates, going every pitch, and too many breaking balls. These guys need to relearn how to pitch and there needs to be a change across the sport at all levels.
Change does need to happen at every level even college high school & little league
But fact is pitchers complained from day 1 about clock. Its not healthy to constantly throw 100mph without giving your arm a minute to rest
If he’s out, Stros majorly screwed
If Astros have a bad record in the summer, do you think both Bregman and Tucker get traded? Does Houston have a successor at 3B?
Denenzo look good but not really major league ready. They could always have Kessinger play 3rd as well. Tucker would most likely not be traded as he has 1 more year of control left after this year,
If 2025 is looking pessimistic especially if Bregman walks, Astros may trade Tucker next winter and try to prepare for 2026.
But at least they have Josh Hader for five more years…..
If his ERA doesn’t go down it aint gonna help
Correct. I was being sarcastic. Sorry.
lol
When will we get more info on this, this could be anywhere from a overreaction to the end of the Astros postseason run…
Elbow issues are a concern. IT is best to take out now. Perhaps just inflammation and on IL for a bit would not hurt. But if this replacement for tonight is not good then we are in trouble. Verlander got work in in Sugar Land but not good giving up the runs he did to a AAA team.
Urquidy could be out a lengthy time. McCullers and Garcia are July/August at least. If on track. But what will either have. McCullers has not pitched since the WS in 2022 season. He was lousy in that one game. Was not at perfection even before that.
Garcia was great not sure if his rock a bye baby motion played a role or not with him. But he knew something serious was wrong that day. Dusty wanted to blow it off. Didn’t want to admit it was serious.
Bielak is not answer to take a spot either. But may be down to it if Framber misses. Hunter better get his act together. But doubt it. He just can’t find himself. France labors in his starts. He has gone 5 and 2/3 his 2 starts but not pretty starts.. It is concerning with arm issues/elbow etc. With so many going down over the years
Doot doot doot…another one bites the dust. Manfred better do something. This is horrible for the game.
What can Manfred do? Elbow injuries have been occurring for decades, and teams require pitchers to throw as hard as possible and with as much spin as possible every single pitch. I’m not sure how this can be regulated to have pitchers back off.
You can’t. It’s an individuals decision. They are chasing parameters that they know are going to increase their chance of getting paid. No one is stopping that.,If you want the individuals to dial it back in the name of protecting their health, I think the most effective thing you could do is remove the guarantee on pitching contracts. If you are hurt, you are not getting paid. Being healthy is numero uno. Find the balance. Protect yourself.
foppert2,
Non-guaranteed contracts for pitchers is a horrible idea. You’re putting all the accountability on the player while the demands of the team don’t change.
Yes I am.
I’m not sure how the team “demands” work and the level of pressure brought to bear. Can’t comment.
Spot on. The problem is I can’t ever see the union going for it. If they did, there would have to be some massive sweeteners involved.
Teams require? success requires, maybe.
Cleaver,
Teams, success, whatever. If you want to be a big league pitcher, you have to risk your health.
Pitchers are good for about 500 innings and then they break. Teams must have an idea about this. It’s not really a mystery at this point. I think everyone can stop panicking. The elbows are fixable. Pitchers tend to last into their 30’s more frequently than their position playing counterparts. All is well.
All is well or S.N.A.F.U.? I guess they’re both intertwined for now…
The Astros are already behind the eight ball with their 3-7 start. If Valdez is done, their postseason streak probably is as well
Doubtful. It would take more major injuries for them to not make the playoffs.
The Astros rotation already had a ton of question marks. Valdez, along with Javier, looked like the only sure things. The AL is also shaping up to be very competitive this year. I don’t think the Astros are one of the top 6 teams without Valdez
How bout AL player of the week Mr. Blanco
30 years old with no track record of success. Could be legit or could be a flash in the pan. Far from a sure thing
I agree if Framber is out and Urquidy as well for year or most of season it will kill our chances. Keeping ALvarez at 2nd needs to change. Bregman at 4th too.
Need to call up Loperfido to take over first. Send Abreu and Singleton packing.
Neither are offense value. Can’t get anything for either. Singleton can’t even go to the minors for any team since out of options.
Bregman may need to be traded or something if things stay messy with offense and more. 3 – 7 is not great. And if rotation and bullpen shaky as they both are I do not see a good path. Elbow issues not sure even if something to mess with. IF only misses a start. Rangers are in town when next start is. Javier, Brown, and France have the Kansas City Series. Tuesday thru Thursday.
I hope it is not serious but if comes back and then gets hurt again.
Diaz caught his first game when was lousy. 2nd start Caratini did and was better.
So hoping for the best for him. But …..
This might be the nail in the coffin for the stros this year.
Say for the heck of it that MLB gives in, no more pitch clock
…….but over the next 5 years elbow injuries keep escalating along with velocity and spin rate increases?
What happens then?
I’m not saying MLB is right but maybe just maybe there is validity in BOTH the pitch clock and the quest to hit velocity & spin rate goals being the issue?
The chickens have come home to roost.
Step one in the two step TJS dance.
baseball fans had to learn this the hard way
Between Valdez and Strider, among others recently, shows MLB that marquee players are not immune from these injuries. MLB must at the very least start looking into it.
Someone do a wellness check on Snell.
Bring back sticky stuff and increase rotations to 6 man like in Japan
Yes!!!
The Mariners plan to finish 2nd place is coming to fruition mwahahahahaha
Don’t worry, the Astros will stumble on some other no-name who will become great for no reason like Blanco. Sickening.
Time to institute a pitch speed limit and breaking ball break limit. It’s the only way to save our sport. /s
Its simple adopt a 6 man rotation and increase roster to 27 players to allow extra bullpen arm. The high velocity these days require more rest between starts.
No one has the answers to this. But the pitch clock mandate does not help and may actually be a cause. You see that manifesting in the loss of control during at bats and inning by inning. That causes more pitches, less innings, longer innings…none of which are good for an arm. 6 man rotations sound good but finding 180+ MLB starters is an impossibility. Pitching is a lost art. Velocity rules, control be damned. For every Skenes there are 10 lousy pitchers.
Solution? I dont know. But removing the pitch clock, bigger, more consistent strike zone, hitters that make contact would all help. Changing the rules to save 20 minutes is baloney. True baseball fans appreciate the game. Time isnt important. Its a chess game
Half of the top stories here are all about dang injuries
He’s done for 2024.
Fram Brulez
It’s the slickness of the baseballs. It requires more forearm strength and a harder grip which impacts the elbow at a much higher rate, as opposed to having a bit more tack on the ball which allows the fingertips to do more of the work.
Fram Brulez