Houston Astros Cancel Rehab Assignment as Starter Faces Another Setback

The Houston Astros have another starting pitcher that faced an unfortunate setback as they cancel his upcoming rehab assignment.

Jul 28, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia (77) works out prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros pitching staff has faced unforeseen injury problems with their starting rotation and don't seem to be getting any luckier.

Unfortunate news came out of the Astros camp on Friday afternoon as insider Chandler Rome of The Athletic shared the news that right-handed pitcher Luis Garcia was dealing with elbow soreness. It was so bad, in fact, that the team cancelled his upcoming rehab assignment.

Garcia was a key part of the Houston rotation to start his career and it looked like he was set to become an ace.

Signed out of Venezuela in 2017, he quickly became an intriguing prospect. In four seasons, he had a 2.65 ERA across 56 appearances while striking batters out at a very high rate.

He made his major league debut out of the bullpen in 2020 and made his case to be a starter for the next season.

Across the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he had a great 3.60 ERA with a 1.155 WHIP with 9.3 K/9. He finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Randy Arozarena back in 2021.

The 2023 season got off to a nice start, but quickly into an early May start against the San Francisco Giants, he suffered an elbow injury that would lead to Tommy John surgery and ended his season early.

Dealing with recovery since then, the 27-year-old has yet to make his way back to the mound in an Astros uniform. It's appeared that he's gotten close a couple of times, but now faces another setback that will keep him out for an indefinite period of time.

In 2.1 innings of rehab work this season that he's already completed, he's given up two home runs and four earned runs while walking another. It's clear why Houston didn't rush him back after those two performances, but it was at least a good sign that they felt comfortable enough to schedule another.

Garcia is just one of six starting pitchers that are currently on the injured list, with four of those total players dealing with elbow surgery.

The Astros have been able to fight back to first place in the AL West despite their injury troubles and picked up a solid starter at the MLB trade deadline, but would still prefer to have their starters finally healthy again.