The Houston Astros placed Spencer Arrighetti on the 15-day injured list Saturday, a nerve issue in his push-off foot ending his brief comeback bid.
The move leaves an already battered Houston rotation searching for length again, with Arrighetti’s spot in the five-man mix suddenly uncertain for the stretch run.
Arrighetti made it exactly one inning in just his second start back from the All-Star break Friday night at Rate Field, then walked off the mound and never returned.
Arrighetti’s Foot Injury
The right-hander signaled for a trainer while warming up for the second inning against the Chicago White Sox and exited before another pitch, according to MLB.com’s Andy Martinez. AJ Blubaugh took over from there. The Astros’ diagnosis was announced as right foot nerve irritation, discomfort Arrighetti first noticed between his third and fourth toes during pregame warmups.
Attempting to pitch through the issue, Arrighetti walked two batters and hit two more across a shaky first inning, part of a stretch in which he’s issued 10 walks over his last two outings and posted a 24.6 percent walk rate since June 3, according to Martinez.
“I got out there for the first, and it bothered me on just about every pitch I threw,” Arrighetti said, as quoted by Martinez. “It’s my foot that I push off the mound with, too. So it just felt like things weren’t coming out right.”
Manager Joe Espada and a team trainer checked on him after the first, but Arrighetti wanted to keep going. He couldn’t. Houston recalled left-hander Bryan King from Triple-A Sugar Land to fill the open roster spot, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
Astros Rotation Injury Woes Continue
Arrighetti was 7-5 with a 4.34 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP and 87 strikeouts against 48 walks across 16 starts before Friday, a season that included an American League Pitcher of the Month award in May, when he posted a 1.34 ERA over his first eight starts. The stretch since has been shakier, with an ERA in the high 7s across multiple June and July starts. His career mark now stands at 15-23 with a 4.58 ERA.
Arrighetti fractured his throwing thumb during batting practice in April 2025, an injury that sidelined him roughly four months. He returned that August, only to land back on the injured list weeks later with right elbow inflammation that manager Joe Espada said would likely end his season.
Houston’s 2026 rotation has absorbed hit after hit. Mike Burrows is on the 15-day injured list with elbow neuritis. Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter remain out recovering from Tommy John surgery, with Walter already ruled out for the season, while Ronel Blanco and Bennett Sousa have only recently worked back from their own injured list stints, according to ESPN’s Astros injury tracker. Hunter Brown and Tatsuya Imai have carried the rotation load, with Peter Lambert also chipping in. Bryan King now becomes part of that patchwork mix.
The Astros sit 51-54 and third in the AL West, two games back after a four-game winning streak that included Friday’s 9-5 comeback win over the White Sox. Yordan Alvarez has carried the offense. Whether Houston’s arms can hold up is the question that will decide the rest of the summer.
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