The Astros optioned right-hander Mike Burrows last week. Today, the club announced that the optional assignment has been nullified. Instead, Burrows has been placed on the major league 15-day injured list due to right elbow neuritis. The IL placement is effective July 7.
These types of reversals occur when it is discovered that the player suffered an injury while serving in the big leagues. Burrows didn’t make a minor league appearance in the days after being sent down. Presumably, he felt some soreness shortly after getting sent to the minors, got tested and his ailment was discovered.
It’s unclear how long Burrows is expected to be sidelined but the Astros will have a bit less pitching depth for the time being. For now, the Astros have Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert, Tatsuya Imai, Spencer Arrighetti and Cristian Javier in their rotation. Kai-Wei Teng hit the IL a couple of weeks ago. Like Burrows, Teng was initially optioned before that was rescinded for him to be placed on the major league IL.
Teng and Burrows had clearly fallen down the depth chart, which is why they were both sent to the minors before each hit the IL instead. Still, it’s not ideal for a club to lose a couple of rotation depth arms when they’re in a playoff race.
At the moment, Colton Gordon might be the first guy to get a call when a starter is needed, since he is on the 40-man roster. Jason Alexander is also on the 40-man but has been on the minor league IL for almost a month. Ryan Weiss and Ethan Pecko are some non-roster options. Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Lance McCullers Jr. are all on rehab assignments, so they could be in line to come off the IL in the near future.
The Burrows news is potentially notable in the long term. He has only one option season remaining. When the Astros sent him down last week, he would have burned that final option once he spent 20 days on optional assignment. That would have put him in position to be out of options in 2027. That could have been awkward for the Astros, as they may have felt backed into a situation where they had to squeeze Burrows off the roster just a year after making him a prominent trade pick-up.
That situation is less likely to come up now. It’s still possible that Burrows could come off the IL and get optioned later in the year but perhaps he will stay on the IL for a while and keep that option for 2027. If his injury lingers to the beginning of September, perhaps he could stick in the bullpen as a long man when rosters expand for that month.
Holding that option would help the Astros keep him as depth next year and give him a chance to get back on track. He’s only 26 years old and still has time to develop into something better than what he has shown this year. The small downside for the Astros is that Burrows is currently collecting minor league pay and service time, so he’s slightly more expensive in the short term than if he were still on optional assignment.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
