Allard expected to start as Texas hosts Houston
The Astros will start Framber Valdez on Saturday and the Rangers are expected to counter with Kolby AllardAUGUST 28, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Odorizzi, Astros to take on Otto, Rangers
The Astros will start Jake Odorizzi on Friday and the Rangers are expected to counter with Glenn OttoAUGUST 27, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
McCullers Jr. expected to start for Houston against Kansas City
The Astros will roll out Lance McCullers Jr. to the mound Wednesday and the Royals plan to give Mike Minor the startAUGUST 25, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Placed on IL with shoulder soreness Baez was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with shoulder soreness, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.
Impact Baez made his season debut Aug.10 after being sidelined for the entire season with a shoulder injury. He's allowed just one run across 4.1 innings since returning, but his move back to the IL doesn't come as a surprise given that he experienced down velocity numbers in recent outings. The transaction is retroactive to Sunday, so Baez will be eligble to come off the injured list Sep. 1, though it's possible he'll need more time to recover. Bryan Abreu was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his roster spot.
AUGUST 24, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Diminished velo Baez experienced diminished fastball velocity during his outing Tuesday against the Rockies, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.
Impact Baez was activated off the injured list Tuesday and made his first appearance of the season, throwing a scoreless inning of relief. Looking deeper, however, the zip on his fastball was down a few ticks. His first fastball was 89 mph, and it lived between 89 and 92 mph throughout the inning. That was down from the 94 mph he averaged in 2020, which was down from the 95-96 mph of 2018-2019. The Astros inked him during the offseason to pitch high-leverage innings, but that may not be the case with such a drastic drop in velocity. The team can get by with Kendall Graveman filling the eighth-inning role.
AUGUST 14, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Finishes off shutout Baez allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless ninth inning in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Colorado.
Impact Baez was reinstated from the 60-day injured list earlier in the day and made his season debut. He was sidelined by a shoulder injury sustained while building up following a bout with COVID-19 in the spring. Baez had been expected to be a key contributor when he signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal during the offseason, and his absence was felt as Houston's bullpen struggled for much of the season. The Astros have since added bullpen reinforcements, and the unit has pitched much better since the trade deadline. Baez could work into a seventh-inning role along with Ryne Stanek.
AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Returns from IL Baez (shoulder) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Impact The righty made eight rehab appearances, totaling eight strikeouts and allowing a pair of runs in nine innings. Baez has not pitched in the big-leagues this season due to a spring training shoulder injury, although he's now healthy and ready to make his 2021 debut in Houston's bullpen. He appeared in 18 games for the Dodgers in 2020, posting a 3.18 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 17 innings. Rafael Montero (shoulder) was placed on the IL in a corresponding move Tuesday.
AUGUST 10, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Odorizzi expected to start for the Astros against the Rockies
The Rockies will start Jon Gray on Tuesday and the Astros are expected to counter with Jake OdorizziAUGUST 10, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Maeda scheduled to start for Minnesota against Houston
The Twins will start Kenta Maeda on Sunday and the Astros are expected to counter with Lance McCullers JrAUGUST 8, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pitches on consecutive days Baez (shoulder) made rehab appearances Thursday and Friday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.
Impact Baez allowed a run on a hit and a walk while striking out one in two innings across his two appearances, and he'll be re-evaluated Saturday. The Astros have treated back-to-back usage as the final step in rehab assignments for relievers this year, so the right-hander is close to returning from the 60-day IL.
AUGUST 7, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Greinke expected to start as Astros host the Twins
The Twins will start Bailey Ober on Friday and the Astros are expected to counter with Zack GreinkeAUGUST 6, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Needs back-to-back use Baez (shoulder) had been scheduled to throw back-to-back days this week for Triple-A Sugar Land, but Tuesday's game was rained out.
Impact The Astros want to see Baez throw on back-to-back days before re-evaluating him. Thus far, Baez's rehab has gone smoothly with the right-hander posting a 1.29 ERA with seven strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.
AUGUST 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Valdez expected to start as Houston hosts Minnesota
The Twins will start Griffin Jax on Thursday and the Astros are expected to counter with Framber ValdezAUGUST 5, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buehler expected to start for Los Angeles against Houston
The Astros will start Lance McCullers Jr. on Tuesday and the Dodgers are expected to counter with Walker BuehlerAUGUST 3, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
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
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
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
Moving rehab to Triple-A Baez (shoulder) will report to Triple-A Sugar Land to begin a rehab assignment Thursday or Friday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.
Impact The veteran right-hander completed a bullpen session Tuesday after returning from his two-game rehab stint with High-A Fayetteville, and he'll continue the rehab assignment in the upper minors. Baez has yet to pitch for Houston this season while returning from a shoulder injury, and he'll likely need a couple more games in the minors before being activated.
JULY 21, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Greinke expected to start for the Astros against the Indians
The Indians will start J.CJULY 19, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Scheduled for bullpen in Houston Baez (shoulder) will head to Houston on Tuesday to throw a bullpen session in front of major-league staff, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Impact Baez is currently on a rehab assignment at High-A Fayetteville, for whom he made a second appearance Sunday, walking one and striking out one over a scoreless inning. Presuming all goes well Tuesday, the Astros are expected to move his rehab to Triple-A Sugar Land. He has not pitched for Houston this season after contracting COVID-19 during spring training and injuring his shoulder while building back up.
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
