The Astros the right hand Tatsuya Imai went on the 15-day injured list on April 13 with what the team called right arm fatigue, but is making good progress in his rehab. Imai will challenge tomorrow and could begin minor league rehab on Tuesday, according to manager Joe Espada (via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Although the uncertainty in his arm is fatigue, the team is hopeful that he will return soon.
Imai signed a three-year, $54MM deal with the club in the offseason, falling short of industry expectations for the former Japan star. He had a rough start, allowing seven earned runs and 11 walks in just 8 2/3 innings over three innings. That’s a very small sample, of course, and there’s still plenty of time for Imai to establish himself as a big league starter. For the Astros, the bigger picture concern is the fact that many of their starters are currently injured. Hunter Brown again Cristian Javier both are out with Grade 2 right shoulder sprains and won’t be back for another 4-6 weeks. The pitching staff, with a 5.97 ERA overall, is the main reason the club is off to a 10-18 start in 2026.
A few other injury notes from the AL West:
- Angels a substitute Logan O’Hoppe has been ruled out of today’s game due to a bruised wrist, the team announced. O’Hoppe took a foul ball off his wrist and ended the inning after a visit from the trainer. Travis d’Arnaud he took it behind the plate in the eighth. O’Hoppe is now in his third season as a starter for the club, though he hasn’t hit a home run since 2024, when he posted a 102+ wRC in 522 games. He declined in 2025, posted a wRC+ of just 72, and looks set to start 2026. It’s unclear if O’Hoppe will miss any time. Given the wrist irritation in his receiving hand, the club may choose to play it safe over the next few days to avoid compromising his defense. He and d’Arnaud are the only catchers on the 40-man roster, so any absences could prompt the team to explore the waiver wire for a depth option.
- The guards on the left Jordan Montgomery threw a bullpen session today and will get at least one before moving on to face live hitters, according to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Based on that, he appears to be on track for his recovery as of March 2025. Montgomery signed a one-year, major-league deal with the Rangers in February, expected to begin the year on the 60-day disabled list before returning late in the season. His last season as a successful starter was in 2023, where he was worth 4.2 fWAR in 32 starts between the Cardinals and the World-Series winning Rangers. Now 33 and coming off a long absence, he won’t be expected to repeat that on his return. In Montgomery’s best case scenario, he could fit in as an arm back if Jacob deGrom or Nathan Eovaldi even one person is injured Kumar Rocker again Jack Leiter not working properly.
Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images
