Houston Astros Star Could Undergo Second Season-Ending Surgery

The Houston Astros could be without one of their stars for the rest of the year as he could be undergoing another season-ending surgery.

Mar 9, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy (65) pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

It's been a tough season for the Houston Astros and their starting pitchers.

They began the year with Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy unavailable after they hit the injured list during Spring Training. Then, Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez both were placed on the IL at different points in the season.

Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are already occupying spots on the injured list and aren't expected back until around the All-Star break, so these issues forced the Astros to rely on unproven arms, something that turned into a disaster.

But while they got Verlander, Valdez, and Javier back at different times, Urquidy was never able to make his return even to the mound.

As he was searching for a second opinion following his latest examinations, there was some thought the 29-year-old might be bracing for bad news.

According to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, he is going to see Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas and could be headed for a second Tommy John surgery.

That would be a huge blow to this team, and brutal for the career of Urquidy.

He previously missed the entire 2017 season because of Tommy John surgery when he was pitching in the minor leagues. He was able to recover from that and become an impact pitcher for Houston, but a second injury of this magnitude will be tough to overcome.

It's not a given that Urquidy will actually need to get season-ending surgery, but that is the expectation as of now.