The Houston Astros placed relief pitcher Bennett Sousa on the 15-day injured list on Friday ahead of their game against the Baltimore Orioles. At the time, there was no timeline for how long Sousa would be out.
However, on Saturday afternoon the Astros announced Sousa has been diagnosed with a low grade flexor/pronator strain, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome.
Sousa felt elbow pain after his outing on Tuesday, and did not it did not go away after a couple days of rest. The Astros’ reliever will not throw for a minimum of two weeks and then will be re-evaluated in September.
Astros’ Bullpen Takes a Blow Without Sousa
The Astros’ bullpen has been pretty reliable in 2025, ranking as the eighth-best in the MLB with a 3.66 ERA. However, lately it’s been taxed by injury, and many of Houston’s arms are throwing more innings than they ever have.
The Astros have five relievers with ERA’s under three. Closer Josh Hader, fill-in closer Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert, Bryan King and Sousa.
Hader and Abreu are performing the way everyone expected as the Astros eighth and ninth inning guys. However, Sousa, Okert and King have been pleasant surprises for Houston this season, and all five relievers have at least one save on the season.
The Astros continue to lose pitchers to the IL:
Josh Hader
Bennett Sousa
Brandon Walter
Ronel Blanco
Hayden WesneskiJust brutal.. pic.twitter.com/r3oyP1hIaC
— SleeperAstros (@SleeperAstros) August 22, 2025
But, with the recent injuries to Hader and Sousa, the Astros bullpen has taken a hit, and forced other guys to step up. Abreu has been thrust into the closer role, and King and Okert will be leaned on heavier.
However, Okert has already nearly matched his career-high in innings pitched with 58 and King has already doubled the 26.1 innings he threw in his first season last year. Sousa, who’s now injured, had already thrown 50 innings this season after just 20 major league innings in his first year.
With tiring arms, and injuries thinning the Astros options, they’ve picked up veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel. However, the can’t afford any more injuries to their bullpen.
The Astros currently sit atop the AL West with a two game lead over the Seattle Mariners. Houston needs to make it to September and hope for good news on Sousa’s recovery.
