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Astros' Tatsuya Imai: Next start will be in majors
Rotowire
Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that Imai (arm) will rejoin the rotation next week versus the Mariners, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
If Imai is kept on a schedule of five days of rest in between starts, he'll be in line to start Monday's series opener. He made his second rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Sugar Land, allowing one run on one hit with a 3:5 K:BB over three innings. Imai, who is coming back from fatigue in his pitching arm, threw 63 pitches Tuesday, so he will not be ready for a full workload in his first start back with the big club.
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Astros' Tatsuya Imai: Rehab moving to Triple-A
Rotowire
Imai (arm) will make his next rehab appearance Tuesday or Wednesday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
The Japanese right-hander made his first rehab appearance with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, allowing five runs over two innings. Imai struggled to a 7.27 ERA and a 13:11 K:BB in his first three MLB starts before landing on the shelf, so he's likely to need another rehab start or two after next week's outing.
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Astros' Tatsuya Imai: Expected to log another rehab start
Rotowire
Imai (arm) will make another start during his minor-league rehab assignment in the coming week, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Imai tossed two innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out two batters during his first rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Manager Joe Espada announced Thursday that the right-hander will make another start while on his rehab assignment, though it's currently unclear at what level his next outing will come. Imai has been sidelined since April 13 while recovering from right arm fatigue, and the additional time away may have allowed him to better adjust to life in the United States, which was something else he was reportedly struggling with, per Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports.
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Astros' Tatsuya Imai: Struggles in first rehab start
Rotowire
Imai (arm) was charged with five runs on six hits and three walks over two innings in his first rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday.
It's not the bottom-line result the Astros were looking for from Imai, who threw 59 pitches over his two innings of work. The Japanese right-hander will require at least one more rehab outing as he continues to ramp back up. Imai has been sidelined for more than two weeks with fatigue in his pitching arm.
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Astros' Tatsuya Imai: Will begin rehab stint Tuesday
Rotowire
Imai (arm) is slated to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Imai landed on the IL due to right arm fatigue April 13. Imaging came back clean, and the Japanese hurler has been building up his workload since, which included him tossing 45 pitches in a bullpen session Friday. Imai will now progress to game action with Corpus Christi and appears to be on track to rejoin the Astros in the first half of May.
Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that Imai's (arm) bullpen session Friday "looked good," and that the right-hander's next step is to embark on a rehab assignment, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Per McTaggart, Imai tossed 45 pitches during Friday's bullpen session. Imai has been steadily building up his workload since landing on the 15-day injured list April 13 due to right arm fatigue. It appears the 27-year-old is ready to take the next step in his recovery program by going on a rehab assignment, and he'll likely need at least a couple of outings without a setback before returning to the majors.
Imai (arm) threw a bullpen session Monday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
It appears to be the first time he has thrown off the mound since landed on the 15-day injured list a week ago with right arm fatigue. The Astros haven't revealed the next steps for Imai, but it will likely involve facing hitters and perhaps making a rehab start or two. Imai holds a 7.27 ERA and 13:11 K:BB over his first 8.2 innings with Houston.
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Astros' Colton Gordon: Shifts to bullpen
Rotowire
Gordon struck out five and allowed three earned runs on four hits and one walk across 2.2 innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Cardinals.
Earlier in the week, Houston recalled Gordon from Triple-A Sugar Land and plugged him into a rotation that had recently lost all of Hunter Brown (shoulder), Cristian Javier (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (arm) and Cody Bolton (back) to the injured list. Gordon was lit up for four earned runs on eight hits across 3.2 innings while taking a no-decision Tuesday in Houston's 7-6 win over Colorado, and the poor showing as a starter followed by the extended relief appearance looks like it will at least temporarily keep the left-hander from receiving additional turns through the rotation. Ryan Weiss and Peter Lambert would now appear to be the likely candidates to fill out the final two spots in the Houston rotation, which could be scaled back from six men to five during the upcoming week with an off day looming Thursday.
Imai (arm) played catch at Daikin Park on Thursday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Imai landed on the injured list Monday due to right arm fatigue, but imaging came back clean and he has begun a throwing progression. The right-hander is eligible to return later this month, but a timetable for Imai rejoining the Astros' rotation won't be available until he gets further into his throwing program.
Imaging on Imai's right arm came back negative, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Imai landed on the injured list Monday due to right arm fatigue, but he doesn't appear to be dealing with a structural issue. The team now plans to build up the 27-year-old's arm strength before having him begin a throwing progression. It remains unclear how soon he will be able to return to the Astros' rotation.
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