Valdez won’t start because of ankle issue

ARLINGTON — Framber Valdez will not make his scheduled start Sunday against the Rangers because of a right ankle issue that the Astros hope will only cause him to miss one start, manager Dusty Baker said.

Baker said Valdez “sprained his ankle pretty badly” during his June 20 start against the Mets. The Astros termed it “right ankle soreness” for Valdez, who last pitched Thursday against the Cardinals.

Valdez said he hurt his ankle going down the dugout steps on June 20 but felt OK to continue with his start against the Mets, in which he worked eight innings and allowed two runs.

“I twisted it there and just continued pitching, maybe because of the heat or adrenaline there,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “But when I pitched in St. Louis, I felt it a little bit more, felt it a little more tender. And just figure better to skip a start than to regret it the rest of the season.”

Baker said the Astros “didn’t know if (Valdez) was going to start” in St. Louis. Valdez worked six innings against the Cardinals and allowed four runs on eight hits. He said Saturday the ankle “didn’t feel super great” in that outing.

“He was trying to get it loose up and down the stairs and it really, as you saw, affected his delivery against the Cardinals,” Baker said. “He was getting balls up, some of those balls that were supposed to be sinking. So it’s just something that we have to deal with.”

Valdez and Baker both said they are optimistic Valdez will be able to make another start before the All-Star Break.

“I think I’m going to be prepared to probably pitch either Thursday or Friday,” Valdez said.

Shawn Dubin will start instead of Valdez on Sunday against the Rangers, Baker said after the Astros’ 5-2 loss Saturday. It will mark the third major-league outing and first start for Dubin, who started five of his nine outings for Triple-A Sugar Land this season prior to being called up. Cristian Javier remains in line to start Monday “as of right now,” Baker said. Javier has allowed 10 runs in his last two starts. Baker said Javier is “scuffling a little bit” but is not dealing with anything physically.

Valdez and Javier are the top two starters in a rotation thinned by firsthalf injuries. Baker said Houston must balance using them in a big series against the division-leading Rangers this weekend with taking a longer-term view at the second half. Valdez, who has a 2.49 ERA in 16 starts, played some light catch in the outfield at Globe Life Field on Saturday. Javier threw a bullpen session.

“Discretion’s important, too, because we can’t lose anymore guys,” Baker said. “We already lost two or three guys as it is. That’s a tough balance. It’s a tough thing to have to make a decision but we’ve got to make it. We’ve got to make it for them and for us. Still got a lot of baseball left to play.”

Baker laments not getting Chapman

If Baker had his preference, reliever Aroldis

Chapman would be pitching for the Astros this season. So said Baker on Saturday when asked about Chapman, who was traded by the Royals to the Rangers before the Astros’ series opener at Texas on Friday.

Chapman, 35, signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Royals this past offseason. Baker, who managed the lefthander early in his career in Cincinnati, said he was in contact with Chapman before the veteran signed with Kansas City.

“I wanted him,” Baker said. “I think I was his last call last winter before he signed with Kansas City, just couldn’t make it happen. I was his first manager, and I went through a lot with him.”

Chapman played his first four major-league seasons under Baker with the Reds. He spent the last six-plus seasons with the Yankees and had some memorable meetings with the Astros in the playoffs in 2017 and 2019. Chapman had a career-high 4.46 ERA with the Yankees last season. He owned a 2.45 ERA in 31 games for the Royals before Friday’s trade.

Texas listed Chapman as available out of its bullpen Saturday. Chapman, one of the majors’ hardest throwers across his career, is averaging 99.4 mph on his four-seam fastball this season, per Baseball Savant, his highest average velocity since the 2017 season.