Houston Astros Star Pitcher Makes Progress From Arm Injury

The Houston Astros saw one of their starters hit a milestone on Saturday in his recovery from inflammation in his right forearm.

According to The Athletic, Jose Urquidy played catch on Friday at Minute Maid Park, which sounds innocuous except that it represents a good first step as he builds himself back up to re-join the rotation.

With no ill effects from the session, he’ll throw catch again on Sunday, which is the Astros’ final game of a four-game set with the New York Yankees.

Catch is usually the first step of a throwing program for any pitcher coming off of arm issues.

Urquidy suffered the arm injury during spring training and returned to Houston ahead of team for arm tests, including an MRI. The Astros cleared him of any damage to his UCL, something that could have led to Tommy John surgery, depending upon the severity.

The plan after diagnosis was to allow Urquidy to rest for 10-15 days and then start a throwing program. So, right now, Urquidy is on schedule, though the Astros have not put a timetable on his return.

The Astros would love to get him back sooner rather than later as they have three other starting pitchers on the injured list, in addition to him.

Justin Verlander should return soon he got a late start to spring training thanks to a shoulder issue. He’s expected to throw live batting practice on Monday with the potential for a rehab stint next week.

The other pitchers are Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia, who are recovering from major injuries. Garcia is on the 15-day injured list while McCullers is on the 60-day injured list.