Astros' Framber Valdez Out vs. Rangers with Elbow Soreness; Injury to be Evaluated

Houston Astros All-Star pitcher Framber Valdez will miss his scheduled start on Monday due to right elbow soreness, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Per that report, Valdez will be "evaluated by doctors to determine the severity of the injury."

According to Leah Vann of the Houston Chronicle, Valdez first noticed soreness at the top of his elbow while playing catch on Sunday, and the pain extended into Monday.

"The fact we didn't put him on the [Injured List] is a good sign, we'll see what the doctors say," manager Joe Espada told reporters.

Given the spate of elbow injuries around baseball already this season—which already claimed stars like Eury Perez, Shane Bieber and Spencer Strider within the past week, while players like Shohei Ohtani, Jacob deGrom, Sandy Alcantara, Robbie Ray, Gerrit Cole, Shane McClanahan and Andrew Painter, among others, are all currently recovering from elbow injuries—any news of elbow soreness will be alarming for Astros fans.

Valdez, an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, started the season strong, giving up just three runs in 11 innings across his first two starts while striking out 10. He was instrumental in Houston's 2020 World Series title, going 3-0 in four starts that October with a 1.44 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 25 innings.

If he was sidelined with an elbow injury it would be a massive blow to an Astros team that has limped out to a 3-7 start this season.

In his absence on Monday, Blair Henley will make his MLB debut in the team's series finale against the Texas Rangers.