NEWSLETTER
For the second time in his professional career, Astros starter Jose Urquidy could be headed for Tommy John surgery.
On May 24, Urquidy was pulled from a rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land with right forearm discomfort. Four days later, he had imaging done on that throwing arm and is now scheduled to get a second opinion, which is expected to result in the need for Tommy John.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan had the report.
Jose Urquidy Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery
Urquidy first experienced forearm discomfort in Spring Training, when he was diagnosed with a right forearm strain after removing himself from a start with discomfort in his pitching elbow. He then began the season on the Injured List. His most recent start for Sugar Land saw him last just 3.2 innings before being pulled. It was his third rehab start on the road to recovery.
It’s a tough break for not only Urquidy, who is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, but the Houston Astros, as well. Starters Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers Jr, Luis Garcia, and Urquidy have each either missed significant time already this season or have yet to make his 2024 debut(s). Now, I’m not expecting many to feel too badly for the Astros. But still, that’s just a pretty brutal run of bad injury luck.
Urquidy started a combined 48 games for Houston over the span of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In both of those campaigns, he recorded a sub-4.00 ERA and a WHIP under 1.20. Last season, he started just ten games and missed a significant amount of time with right shoulder discomfort. The 29-year-old right-hander first had Tommy John surgery in 2017.
The Astros have struggled quite a bit this year, largely due to their injury issues in the starting rotation. They got out to a brutal 7-19 start which included a sweep at the hands of the Cubs in Houston, but since that point, they’ve righted the ship (at least, a little bit). They now stand at 26-34 and in third place in the AL West.
