Hayden

Wesneski

Wesneski posted a 4.50 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 29/6 K/BB ratio in six starts (32 innings) for the Astros in 2025 before being sidelined with an elbow injury. He later underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of May and will likely not return to Houston until some point in the summer of 2026.

Wesneski will undergo Tommy John surgery and remain sidelined through the middle of next season.

When general manager Dana Brown came out earlier in the week and said that the team would know more in the next 36 hours, the ominous tone was that they were waiting on a second opinion to confirm an unfortunate diagnosis. That turned out to be true. Wesneski will miss the remainder of the 2025 season — and most of the 2026 campaign — while recovering from the procedure.

The lack of an update isn’t in itself a bad thing, though it sounds like they could be waiting on a second opinion after his MRI revealed only inflammation in his pitching elbow. It sounds like we should have an update on his timeline before the weekend is through.

Wesneski is still facing a multi-week absence even though an MRI on Saturday came back clean for any structural damage. The Astros still plan on going to a six-man rotation for spell, so along with having room for Ryan Gusto, they’ll need to bring up AJ Blubaugh or another rotation option next week.

The 27-year-old hurler struggled his last time out against the Brewers and it sounds like the elbow issue may have been a part of the reason why. No word yet on the severity of the injury or how long Wesneski may potentially be sidelined for. The most likely scenario is that the Astros will now keep Ryan Gusto in the rotation rather than going to a modified six-man setup.

The 27-year-old right-hander walked two and struck out three opposing hitters on the night. He hadn’t pitched since April 25 as the Astros wanted to give him extra rest in between starts and he showed some rust in the opening inning on Tuesday as the Brewers got to him for four runs — including a two-run blast by Jake Bauers. He settled in nicely after that, but the damage had already been done. Now 1-3 on the season, he’ll bring a 4.50 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 29/6 K/BB ratio (32 innings) into next week’s start against the Royals.

Gusto has looked outstanding this season in his first big-league opportunity, recording a strong 3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 29/6 K/BB ratio across 27 innings in eight appearances. The Astros are going to skip his next start on Tuesday against the Brewers with Lance McCullers Jr. (elbow) rejoining the rotation, but he’ll be available in a bulk relief capacity over the next few days. It’ll be Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Framber Valdez starting the three games against Milwaukee. He figures to take the ball at some point later next week after Houston transitions back to a six-man rotation.

Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Wesneski is healthy, but they want to give him a couple extra days of rest before his next start. All signs point to prospect A.J. Blubaugh making a spot start on Wednesday in his place, but that’s technically not official yet.

That would be Hayden Wesneski’s turn in the rotation, but the Astros have listed their starter for that one as TBA because of concerns about Wesneski’s early workload. Blubaugh, who has a 3.86 ERA and a 28/10 K/BB in 21 innings for Tripel-A Sugar Land, appears likely to start in his place against the Tigers.