The Houston Astros are set to play the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night. Ahead of the game, the ball club shared multiple injury updates, via Matt Kawahara.
"Tatsuya Imai threw a bullpen session today in Houston, per the Astros. Josh Hader will throw a live BP tomorrow in Sugar Land, as will Cody Bolton, Joe Espada said. Jeremy Peña ran today, Espada said. Joey Loperfido is in Cleveland and will do some baseball activity," Kawahara reported.
Imai is recovering from arm fatigue. The fact that the right-handed pitcher was able to throw a bullpen on Monday is encouraging.
Imai pitched to an underwhelming 7.27 ERA across his first three starts of the 2026 MLB season. The Astros are hopeful that he can take a step forward from a performance standpoint once he returns. For now, Imai will continue to work amid his recovery from arm fatigue.
Hader was recently transferred to the 60-day IL as he battles a bicep injury. He was an All-Star in 2025 and ultimately turned in a 2.05 ERA, but the 32-year-old may not return for a while. It seems as if the earliest he can return is late May, but there is currently no specific return date for him.
Pena recently landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury. He ran on Monday which is encouraging. Pena was also an All-Star in 2026. In 10 games played in 2026 before his injury, the shortstop was hitting .256/.304/.349.
The Astros will continue to closely monitor and provide updates on their injured players. Updates will be provided as they are made available.
Astros' Difficult Start to Season
© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Houston is entering Monday night's game against the Guardians with an 8-15 record. The Astros are in last place in the American League West division. Underperformance has been an issue, but injuries are clearly causing a problem as well.
The Astros still have time to get back on track. One has to imagine they will perform at a much more respectable level as injured players begin to return. At the moment, Houston needs to find a way to avoid falling too far back in the standings. The Astros are currently 3.5 games back of first place in the AL West.
There is no reason to panic yet. With that being said, the Astros are certainly hopeful that the injury bug will not give them problems all season long.
