Astros Place Spencer Arrighetti On 15-Day IL - MLB Trade Rumors

Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti is heading to the injured list with right foot nerve irritation, the team announced. Reliever Bryan King is heading back to the big-league squad to take his spot. Arrighetti was pulled from yesterday’s outing after an erratic first inning. The White Sox sent all nine hitters to the plate and pushed across three runs. Arrighetti only gave up two hits, but walked two and hit a pair of batters, including one to force in a run. Houston used six relievers to cover the final eight innings against Chicago. The bullpen permitted just two runs, allowing the Astros to recover from the rough start and win the game. AJ Blubaugh and Kai-Wei Teng followed Arrighetti with two innings apiece. They’re likely the top two candidates to take over his rotation spot. Teng has been a part-time starter in his first year with the club. He’s been much better as a reliever, with a 2.22 ERA over 15 appearances compared to a 5.52 mark in 10 starts. Blubaugh has a respectable 3.74 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning across 39 relief appearances. He’s routinely covered multiple innings, but he’s only gone longer than two frames once since the start of June. Teng is certainly more stretched out right now. Arrighetti didn’t break camp with the team, but entered the rotation in mid-April. He opened his campaign with an eight-start stretch that looked excellent on the surface, but was never going to last. The righty carried a 1.34 ERA into June, fueled by a .210 BABIP and an 89.3% left-on-base rate. Arrighetti had a 4.92 SIERA and a 5.11 xFIP over those first eight appearances. Regression hit hard in June. Arrighetti was hammered for 25 earned runs over 25 innings. His ERA jumped up to 4.00 and has only continued to climb. His current 4.60 mark seems pretty fair, as he probably isn’t as bad as this recent stretch, but was clearly pitching above his head to open the year. Arrighetti was a regular on the injured list last season. He missed nearly two months in the summer with a freak thumb injury after getting hit by a ball during batting practice. Arrighetti missed time with a more typical injury in September. Elbow inflammation ended his season after just seven starts. His timeline for the foot issue is unclear. Houston’s actions at the trade deadline could hint at how long the club expects to be without Arrighetti. King was bumped off the roster when Bennett Sousa returned from the 60-day IL earlier this week. He’ll rejoin the Astros after just one appearance at Triple-A. The lefty tossed a scoreless frame for Sugar Land on Wednesday. King was having a strong season for Houston until recently. He racked up six saves and 12 holds as an important high-leverage piece, but was tagged for eight earned runs over his final four appearances before getting sent down. Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images