The Houston Astros have had a challenging start to the 2024 MLB season. Yet, things have gotten tougher with a new development on Jose Urquidy's forearm injury. Urquidy was pulled off his rehab start to see Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas and could be headed for his second Tommy John Surgery, ESPN's Alden Gonzalez reports.

Urquidy was out for the season with a forearm strain and was working toward returning to the team. However, if the right-hander undergoes Tommy John surgery, he will likely not be able to return until 2025.

Jose Urquidy had his first Tommy John surgery in 2017 as a Minor League player. Hopefully, his ailment does not remain serious and he can avoid another one.

The 29-year-old has not gotten to contribute in 2024, but he played a supportive role in Houston's 2023 ALCS run. Urquidy amassed a 3-3 record and threw 45 strikeouts with a .529 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 16 appearances. One year prior, Urquidy had a career year. He went 13-8, threw a career-high 134 strikeouts, and held a 3.94 ERA with 1.17 WHIP.

Jose Urquidy's injury development hurts the struggling Astros, but they have what it takes to turn things around. Houston will continue to rely on multiple contributors to keep their pitching steady. So far, Ronel Blanco leads the team with a 5-1 record, ranked 17th in the league. He has also thrown 57 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Hunter Brown wants to continue catching opposing offenses off balance with his team-leading 60 strikeouts. Moreover, Josh Bryan Abreu has amassed a team-high 11 holds. He, Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, and Spencer Arrighetti will have more of an opportunity to help keep the Astros defense afloat in the absence of Jose Urquidy.

Astros look to bounce back from subpar start to season

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Houston had a rough close to May. First, they lost three of four games in their Seattle Mariners series. Then, the Minnesota Twins swept Houston as June got started. The Astros are struggling to get things going, but they have made changes to try to gain momentum.

Houston optioned first basemen Jose Abreu, who has struggled during the first part of the season. Abreu went to the team's spring training facility at West Palm Beach in May to recover from his offensive slump. The 37-year-old understood the move and gave a striking admission after his demotion.

“When I was going through it, and your head isn't in a good spot – there was a point, I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart, I couldn't know how to hit, how to field, I was a little lost. But I'm humble enough to recognize that and trying to be the best Jose Abreu I can be,” Abreu said after being set to return to the team in late May.

Abreu's hiatus helped him improve. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI single in Houston's 3-2 May 27th loss to the Seattle Mariners. That alone drove Abreu's batting average back over .100 from his horrendous .099 mark.

Hopefully, Abreu and the rest of the club can continue to move forward and help the Astros break out of their slump.