Houston Astros pitcher Cristian Javier will make his 2025 debut on Monday against the Boston Red Sox in his return from Tommy John surgery. He will go up against Garrett Crochet in a game that will also be Carlos Correa's first back in Houston after the Astros re-acquired him at the trade deadline.
Javier last pitched in the Majors on May 21 of last year and underwent his surgery the next month. Before his injury, Javier had established himself as a dependable part of the Astros' rotation. From 2022 to 2023, he appeared in 61 games for the Astros, starting 56. He was 21-14 with a 3.59 ERA, striking out 353 batters in 310.2 innings.
Javier's numbers weren't bad to start 2024 either, but his strikeout rate was way down. He had a 3.89 ERA through seven starts and was giving up plenty of soft contact, but was only striking out 18 percent of batters, compared to his career average of 28.1 percent to that point.
The righty has made five rehab starts to date, the most recent coming last Tuesday for Triple-A Sugar Land. He threw 64 pitches in his outing, going 3.2 innings and giving up a run on two hits. He also walked four and struck out six. The walks have been a trend for Javier throughout his minor league stint. He issued another four free passes in his previous start and has walked at least two each time out.
Nevertheless, his return comes at a welcome time for the Astros. At 66-52, they are clinging to a half-game lead in the American League West. Even with Javier coming back and Spencer Arrighetti returning last week, injuries have still ravaged the Astros this season. They previously peaked with a league-high 19 players on the IL, and that included six starting pitchers.
Bigger picture, Javier signed a five-year, $64 million contract extension before the 2023 season. He's making $10.4 million this season, but his salary will jump to $21.4 million in 2026 and 2027 with an opportunity for him to make more based on Cy Young voting.
