Astros' Blanco (elbow) out for season
Published
Ronel Blanco's season is over.
The Houston Astros announced Wednesday that the righty starter requires elbow surgery that will rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.
The team expects Blanco to return "during" the 2026 season.
A 31-year-old native of Santiago, Dominican Republic, Blanco was placed on the 15-day injured list last week with inflammation in the elbow.
Blanco is the third member of the team's season-opening rotation on the shelf. Earlier this month, the team announced that Hayden Wesneski required Tommy John surgery and was out for the season. Righty Spencer Arrighetti broke a finger in his pitching hand in early April and is expected to be out until July.
In his fourth season, Blanco had made nine starts before his injury. He was 3-4 with a 4.10 earned run average and WHIP of 1.179 over 48.1 innings pitched. He struck out 48 batters and walked 20.