Astros' Greinke, Taylor go to IL; Greinke to miss next start
The Houston Astros placed starting pitcher Zack Greinke and first baseman Taylor Jones on the injured list, citing health and safety protocolsSEPTEMBER 1, 2021 • Associated Press
JOSH JAMES
Joins Astros The Astros activated James from their taxi squad Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Impact The hard-throwing righty hasn't allowed a run in 8.1 innings since joining Triple-A Sugar Land at the beginning of August and has a 13:1 K:BB in his eight appearances. Injuries have prevented James from making a big-league appearance this season, but he finally gets a spot on Houston's roster. Granted, he was likely a candidate to be called up when rosters expand Wednesday, but the COVID-19 injured list designations of Zack Greinke and Taylor Jones merited a spontaneous promotion Tuesday.
AUGUST 31, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Reinstated, sent down James (hamstring) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Impact James restarted his rehab assignment July 25 and allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five in 2.2 innings across four appearances. The right-hander had been on the injured list since the start of the season, and he'll remain in the minors after the Astros strengthened their bullpen at the trade deadline.
AUGUST 2, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Wood scheduled to start for San Francisco against Houston
The Astros will start Zack Greinke on Saturday while the Giants are expected to counter with Alex WoodJULY 31, 2021 • Associated Press
Gausman expected to start as San Francisco hosts Houston
The Astros will start Framber Valdez on Friday and the Giants are expected to counter with Kevin GausmanJULY 30, 2021 • Associated Press
Kikuchi scheduled to start as Seattle hosts Houston
The Astros will start Jake Odorizzi on Wednesday and the Mariners are expected to counter with Yusei KikuchiJULY 28, 2021 • Associated Press
Flexen scheduled to start for Seattle against Houston
The Mariners are expected to send Chris Flexen to the mound Tuesday and the Astros will give Lance McCullers Jr. the startJULY 27, 2021 • Associated Press
Restarting rehab assignment James (hamstring) will restart his rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.
Impact James began a rehab assignment June 25 and made six appearances, but he was struck by a liner July 16 and went back to Houston to have his hamstring looked at. The right-hander allowed one run on six hits and four walks while striking out six in 6.2 innings prior to his shutdown, and it's not yet clear how many outings he'll require before he's reinstated from the injured list.
JULY 25, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Greinke scheduled to start for Houston against Texas
The Astros will roll out Zack Greinke to the mound Sunday and the Rangers plan to give Taylor Hearn the startJULY 25, 2021 • Associated Press
Astros lose combo no-hit try in 8th; Rangers' skid hits 11
Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen took a no-hit try into the eighth inning and Astros beat Texas 4-1, sending the Rangers to their season-worst 11th straight lossJULY 25, 2021 • Associated Press
Faces live hitters James (hamstring) threw live batting practice Friday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Impact James was recently struck by a comebacker in the lower back during the fourth game of his rehab assignment and aggravated his hamstring injury in the process. He was recalled from the rehab assignment to be examined by team doctors. The Astros have not declared the next step for James following his 20-pitch session to batters.
JULY 24, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Valdez expected to start for Houston against Texas
The Astros are expected to send Framber Valdez to the mound Saturday and the Rangers plan to give Kyle Gibson the startJULY 24, 2021 • Associated Press
Allard expected to start for the Rangers against Astros
The Rangers will start Kolby Allard on Friday while the Astros are expected to counter with Jake OdorizziJULY 23, 2021 • Associated Press
Getting evaluated by doctors James (hamstring) returned to Houston to be looked at by the club's medical staff after being hit by a line drive during his July 16 rehab outing, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com report...
Impact James had to exit the outing after just one inning and nine pitches, and he has not pitched since. The club will likely determine whether he needs to further pause his rehab stint after he's looked at by doctors Tuesday, and for the time being it seems likely that his activation will be pushed back to at least next week.
JULY 21, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Greinke expected to start for the Astros against the Indians
The Indians will start J.CJULY 19, 2021 • Associated Press
Struck by line drive James (hamstring) was struck in the upper back by a line drive during the sixth inning of a rehab appearance at Triple-A Sugar Land on July 16.
Impact James stayed in the game to finish off the sixth inning, but he was pulled before the seventh inning after just nine pitches. Houston manager Dusty Baker, who said throwing only nine pitches was not the plan for James, did not have an update on whether he'll be set back after getting hit.
JULY 19, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Valdez expected to start for the Astros against White Sox
The Astros will start Framber Valdez on Sunday while the White Sox are expected to counter with Carlos RodonJULY 18, 2021 • Associated Press
Giolito expected to start as White Sox host the Astros
The White Sox are expected to send Lucas Giolito to the mound Saturday and the Astros plan to give Jake Odorizzi the startJULY 17, 2021 • Associated Press
McCullers, Brantley help Astros beat White Sox 7-1
Lance McCullers Jr. pitched seven sparkling innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1 in the opener of a weekend series between AL division leadersJULY 17, 2021 • Associated Press
Cease scheduled to start as Chicago hosts Houston
The White Sox will send Dylan Cease to the mound Friday and the Astros will give Lance McCullers Jr. the startJULY 16, 2021 • Associated Press
Shines in Triple-A appearance James (hamstring) tossed two scoreless innings Monday in a rehab outing for Triple-A Sugar Land. He allowed one hit and hit a batter while recording one strikeout in the 31-pitch r...
Impact James was making his third appearance for Sugar Land and the fifth of his rehab assignment overall after his recovery from offseason hip surgery and a subsequent hamstring injury suffered during training sidelined him for the season's first half. The 28-year-old right-hander pitched well Monday and looks like he could be activated from the 60-day injured list to join Houston's bullpen shortly after the All-Star break.
JULY 13, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Seeking better command, Astros reliever Josh James used his time away to shorten up James, who has struggled to repeat his delivery in the past, used his downtime after offseason hip surgery to change his arm path.
JULY 11, 2021 • THEATHLETIC.COM
Valdez scheduled to start as Houston hosts New York
The Yankees will start Jameson Taillon on Sunday and the Astros are expected to counter with Framber ValdezJULY 11, 2021 • Associated Press
Cole, Yankees to face Greinke, Astros
The Yankees will start Gerrit Cole on Saturday and the Astros are expected to counter with Zack GreinkeJULY 10, 2021 • Associated Press
Odorizzi expected to start as Houston hosts New York
The Astros will roll out Jake Odorizzi to the mound Friday and the Yankees plan to give Nestor Cortes Jr. the startJULY 9, 2021 • Associated Press
