The Houston Astros will get a key pitcher back on Friday.
Right-hander Cristian Javier, who has been on the injured list since April 9 with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain, will be activated before the Astros' series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow. However, while the 29-year-old has been a full-time starting pitcher since 2022, Houston plans to utilize him differently.
Astros manager Joe Espada announced his intent to use Javier as a relief pitcher for the time being. While there is still the possibility of a return to the starting rotation, Javier will not be used as a swingman in his relief duties; he will either be used in middle relief or high leverage.
This will be unfamiliar territory for Javier despite beginning his career as a relief pitcher. In 2021, the last 27 of his 36 appearances came from the bullpen, and he logged a 3.93 ERA with 72 strikeouts over 52.2 innings in that role. The righty started the 2022 season with three relief outings before making another start.
Since then, Javier was permanently placed into the starting rotation, making just two more bullpen appearances that year and being used solely as a starter from 2023 until now. This was because he broke out with a spectacular 2022 campaign, logging a 2.54 ERA and striking out 194 batters in just 148.2 innings; opponents only hit .169 against him. Javier was the starter in two combined no-hitters thrown by the Astros that year, with the second coming in Game 4 of the World Series.
But after pitching a career-high 162.0 innings in 2023, Javier has thrown only 81.0 innings combined from 2024 to 2026. This was largely due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2024, and he wouldn't return until August of last season. Even before landing on the IL this year, though, Javier was ineffective in three starts; he pitched a combined 9.1 innings and surrendered 13 earned runs (12.54 ERA) on 13 hits and nine walks while striking out only four.
Espada stated that the decision to move Javier to the bullpen is not performance related, and is instead based on other factors like workload, pitch velocity/movement and Houston's schedule moving forward. As of now, the Astros will roll with the five-man staff of Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, Mike Burrows, Peter Lambert and Tatsuya Imai.
