Astros righty hasnt pitched since May 1, 2023 due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery later that month. Hes been building back up in camp this year, pitching 9 2/3 innings, but manager Joe Espada revealed this morning that Garcia has been shut down entirely after renewed elbow discomfort ( ). Hed been slated to pitch a bullpen se sion today but will instead be evaluated by team doctors. Its not the first setback for Garcia, but its perhaps more ominous than the last. The right-hander pitched 2 1/3 rehab innings last summer before being slowed down and turning his focus to 2025. The Astros did not provide specifics on the nature of last summers setback at the time (as is typical; the Astros are notoriously vague regarding health updates for their players). Its not clear when theyll provide more information on Garcia. that Garcia resumed throwing to hitters last October and was throwing without i sue throughout the offseason. The team considered him to be ahead of fellow long-injured righty in their respective rehabs, but todays setback marks an abrupt and significant departure from that thinking. Houston wasnt counting on Garcia to step right into the Opening Day rotation, but the belief was that hed emerge as a critical depth option in the early stages of the season. That wont be the case. The Astros still have a solid if top-heavy staff, with , , and sophomore (who had an outstanding finish to the 2024 season after a rough few months as a rookie) leading the pack. , acquired from the Cubs in the trade, is favored to be the fifth starter. A healthy Garcia wouldve been a welcome boon to the staff, whatever his role. The right-hander was never considered a premium pitching prospect but hit the ground running in his 2020 debut and has never faced any kind of prolonged struggles in the big leagues. (Garcia has David Savard Jersey just one month of his career with an ERA north of 5.00.) Hes pitched a total of 352 innings for the Astros and logged a 3.61 ERA with a strong 25.3% strikeout rate against a sharp 7.8% walk rate. He started 28 games for Houston in both 2021 and 2022, logging mid-3.00s ERAs with more than 155 innings in each of those two seasons. Theres now no telling when or whether Garcia will be an option to return to Houstons rotation. His setback marks a notable blow to their pitching depth. The aforementioned McCullers, whos been out of action even longer since the 2022 World Series made his spring debut earlier this week. That marked McCullers first official game action of any kind since 22; he didnt pitch in spring training or embark on any minor league rehab a signments in 2023 or 2024. Hes been beset by multiple flexor injuries along the way, which led to a June 2023 surgery. The Astros currently have Garcia, McCullers, (shoulder) and (UCL) recovering from major surgeries. Javier had Tommy John surgery last June. France underwent surgery to repair a capsule tear in his shoulder last July. Depth starter has been sidelined all spring due to shoulder troubles. Because of that wide swath of injuries, the Astros dont have another rotation candidate on the 40-man roster whos made even one big league start. Lefty and righty are on the 40-man and could both get looks this season, but both are completely untested against MLB opposition. The non-roster options behind the 40-man group arent experienced, either. Right-hander (5.62 ERA in 169 2/3 MLB innings) has the most big league work of any NRI in Astros camp. Righties , 22, and , 24, are the teams top-ranked pitching prospects. Ullola has just three innings in Triple-A. Blubaugh pitched well in 124 Triple-A frames last season and figures to be a key depth piece in 2025. Broadly speaking, the Astros are precariously thin beyond the top group of arms, which only exacerbates the problematic nature of Garcias latest setback. Josh Anderson Jersey