The Houston Astros have placed Tatsuya Imai and Jeremy PeƱa on the injured list amid a seven-game losing streak. Imai is dealing with arm fatigue, while PeƱa has a Grade 1 hamstring strain, with no return timetable announced for either player.
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A bad week for the Houston Astros has gotten even worse. On Monday, the Astros placed right-hander Tatsuya Imai and shortstop Jeremy PeƱa on the injured list. Imai has what the team called arm fatigue. PeƱa has a Grade 1 hamstring strain. The Astros have not yet announced a timetable for either player's return.
The injuries come on the heels of a seven-game losing streak in which Houston has been outscored 58-33.
Imai is the third starting pitcher the Astros have placed on the injured list in the last two weeks. Ace Hunter Brown is sidelined with Grade 2 shoulder strain that will sideline him into the summer. Cristian Javier suffered the same injury in his last start. Now Imai is down for an unknown length of time. Also, Cody Bolton exited Sunday's start in the second inning with back tightness.
Houston's rotation depth chart currently looks like this:
The Astros are pushing the limits of their rotation depth not even three full weeks into the season. Imai, 28 next month, allowed seven runs and 11 walks in 8 ā innings in his first three MLB starts. He walked four of the seven batters he faced in Friday's start, then was sent back to Houston for tests on his arm. The exact nature of his injury is unknown.
As for PeƱa, he was hampered by a finger injury suffered in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year. Now his hamstring is acting up. PeƱa exited Saturday's game with what the team originally called knee discomfort. Grade 1 hamstring strains typically come with a 2-3 week recovery time. It's possible PeƱa will be able to return after the minimum 10 days on the injured list.
PeƱa, 28, is hitting .256/.304/.349 in the early going this season. He has started only 10 of the team's first 16 at shortstop as the Astros managed his WBC injury. Carlos Correa has filled in at shortstop and figures to do so again, with Isaac Paredes taking over at the hot corner. PeƱa's injury does untangle Houston's infield logjam for at least a little while.
It's still early (very early), but the Astros have put a dent in their postseason odds with this seven-game skid. They entered 2026 with 32.8% postseason odds and 12.0% division odds, per FanGraphs. Those are down to 26.4% and 9.2%, respectively. The Astros are fortunate that the Seattle Mariners have similarly started slowly.
Houston is 6-10 and in the AL West cellar. They have allowed 6.31 runs per game this season, nearly a half-run worse than the next-worst team (Washington Nationals at 5.87).
Tatsuya Imai is experiencing arm fatigue, and Jeremy PeƱa has a Grade 1 hamstring strain.
The Astros have not announced a specific timetable for Tatsuya Imai's return from his arm fatigue.
The Astros are currently on a seven-game losing streak, having been outscored 58-33 during this stretch.
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