Houston Astros starter Ronel Blanco will miss the rest of the season due to a right elbow injury, the team announced Wednesday.
Blanco will undergo surgery on his elbow. The team did not specify if Blanco was having Tommy John surgery, getting an internal brace or if he would undergo a different procedure.
Blanco, 31, rose to prominence with the club last year, when he threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays last April. That marked the first time in Blanco’s major-league career that he threw more than six innings in a start.
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The performance propelled Blanco to a fantastic season, in which he posted a 2.80 ERA over 167 1/3 innings. He opened the 2025 season in the team’s rotation, and was hoping to build on his promising 2024 breakout.
Blanco wasn’t quite as good in nine starts to open 2025, though he was still effective. Blanco posted a 4.10 ERA over 48 1/3 innings. While he had some shaky starts early in the season, he showed signs of righting the ship during a May 11 start against the Cincinnati Reds, when he tossed eight scoreless innings and notched 11 strikeouts.
Blanco made just one more start, in which he gave up three runs in six innings against the Texas Rangers. While Blanco seemingly made it out of that start with no issues, he reported elbow soreness in between starts. He was sent back to Houston to be re-evaluated. Blanco was placed on the Injured List on Thursday, and was seeking a second opinion on his injury.
Following that second opinion, Blanco’s 2025 season will end prematurely. It’s unclear when he will return to the mound in 2026.
This story will be updated.
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