Urquidy, Javier to have surgery, out for season
HOUSTON — Houston starters Cristian Javier and José Urquidy are both scheduled to have right elbow surgery, a big blow to an Astros team trying to rebound after a terrible start to the season.
General manager Dana Brown made the announcement Wednesday, saying Urquidy will have surgery Wednesday while Javier’s is set for Thursday.
“Right now, they are both having an elbow surgery,” Brown said. “We’re not sure to the extent of it, but Tommy John is certainly a possibility talking with both of them.”
Both players will miss the entire season and would miss part of next season if Tommy John surgery is needed, with the typical recovery from the ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery taking 12-18 months.
Recovery from internal brace, which uses artificial material to make the repair, has allowed pitchers to return to the majors in as little as nine months.
The Astros already were dealing with injuries to their rotation, with starters Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers not pitching yet this season because of injuries and not expected to return until after the All-Star break.
But Brown said he believes the Astros’ rotation, which is led by Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez, will be just fine despite the injuries because Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti and Ronel Blanco have filled in nicely.
“Losing Urquidy and Javier is tough, but thank God, we have the young kids stepping up and they’re starting to throw the ball well,” Brown said. “So I think our rotation’s pretty good right now. You never want to lose those type of arms, but there’s no panic because our guys are really throwing well.”
Houston, which has reached the AL Championship Series in each of the last seven seasons, entered Wednesday’s games in third place in the AL West with a 28-34 record.
Brown said the injuries won’t change how he approaches things leading up to the trade deadline on July 30.
“We’re always in the market for pitching because of reasons like this,” he said. “I’ve been in baseball for 34 years and I know how long and how tough the season is. It’s a grind of 162 and so we’re always in the market of claiming pitchers… and we’re always trying to add to the depth. And so it’s business as usual, we don’t wait until things fall apart before we find answers.”
Urquidy hasn’t pitched this season after straining his right forearm in spring training. He appeared close to coming off the injured list before he left a rehabilitation start for Triple-A Sugar Land with right elbow inflammation on May 24.
The 29-year-old had Tommy John surgery in 2017 and made his big league debut two years later. He was 3-3 with a 5.29 ERA in 10 starts and six relief appearances last season.
In five major league seasons, Urquidy is 27-16 with a 3.98 ERA in 70 starts and nine relief appearances.
Javier was 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts for Houston this season. He was placed on the injured list with right forearm discomfort on May 24.
The 27-year-old is 33-18 with a 3.59 ERA in 116 career appearances with 82 starts over five MLB seasons.
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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star tight end Colston Loveland has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against No. 11 USC with an undisclosed injury.
Loveland suffered an apparent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over Arkansas State. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore hasn’t specified the nature of the injury.
A preseason All-American, Loveland leads the Wolverines with 19 catches for 187 yards; no other Michigan pass catcher has more than nine receptions.
The No. 18 Wolverines also changed starting quarterbacks this week, moving from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last weekend. He threw two picks in a 31-12 loss to Texas on Sept. 7.
Orji has only seven career passing attempts but has rushed for 58 yards in a relief role this season.
Moore said this week that he wants to see Orji “take the reins” of the Michigan offense with his opportunity.
“Excited for him,” Moore said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit.”
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
The Washington Nationals demoted All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
The 23-year-old Abrams led off for the Nationals and went 0 for 3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday’s game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals’ minor league complex.
Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.
Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season’s final week. Abrams will be arbitration-eligible this winter, entering the system for the first of four times as a Super 2.
Acquired as one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, Abrams parlayed a breakout first-half into an All-Star selection, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases over the Nationals’ first 89 games. He struggled significantly in the second half, slashing .203/.260/.326, and Abrams’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season.
Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO.
“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson defensive end Peter Woods will not play for the 21st-ranked Tigers against NC State on Saturday because of a leg injury.
The team announced Woods’ status about 90 minutes before kickoff. Woods, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, got hurt two weeks ago on a chop block below the knee in a 66-20 victory over App State. Woods came back in briefly after getting checked then missed the second half.
The Tigers were off last weekend.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has said Woods’ playing status was day-to-day. Swinney said Woods had not missed a practice. But Woods came out to the field for warmups in sneakers and sweatpants while other defensive linemen went through drills.
Woods leads the Tigers with 2½ tackles for loss.
Third-year sophomore Jahiem Lawson is listed as Woods’ backup on the depth chart.
NC State will be without starting quarterback Grayson McCall, who was hurt last week in a win over Louisiana Tech. Freshman CJ Bailey started for the Wolfpack.
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