Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier goes on injured list, ending his season

Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier was placed on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday after straining his groin during a start against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. Javier, who left the game after just two innings, is out for the remainder of the season. As a replacement, left-hander Josh Hendrickson was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land. Jake Meyers was also placed on the 60-day injured list to accommodate Hendrickson on the 40-man roster.

Javier, who signed a five-year, $64 million extension in 2020, finished the regular season with a 5.14 ERA in 63 innings. His injury marks another setback for the Astros, who missed three months due to a shoulder strain earlier in the year. Prior to this injury, Javier had been the Astros' fourth starter, behind Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert, and Hayden Wesneski.

He was poised to pitch in the team's regular-season finale against the Rangers, but the Astros' playoff aspirations may influence their pitching strategy for that game.

Hendrickson, a 29-year-old Australian native, spent the entire minor-league season with Sugar Land, posting a 4.75 ERA over 23 appearances, including 19 starts. He has yet to make his major-league debut. Meyers, the team's opening day center fielder, was recently ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his knee during a game on September 11.