At 12-24, the Houston Astros occupy last place in the American League West.

The club is on pace for more than 100 losses, something that could lead them to sell at the trade deadline.

However, general manager Dana Brown isn't ready to entertain the idea.

"No," he said on MLB Network. "No, I can't envision that. This ballclub is too good." 

The Houston Astros will option Jose Abreu to their spring training facility to try to get the first baseman back on track.

The 37-year-old will report to the Astros complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Houston general manager Dana Brown said the decision was made after a meeting that included himself, Abreu, coaches and front-office personnel.

Abreu is in the second season of a $58.5 million, three-year contract. In 77 plate appearances across 22 games this season, he has seven hits.

The Houston Astros will call up Joey Loperfido before Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Loperfido isn't on Houston's 40-man roster, so they'll have to make a roster move to add him.

A seventh-round pick in 2021, Loperfido is hitting .287/.393/.713 over 122 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

The Houston Astros have placed Cristian Javier on the injured list with neck discomfort.

Spencer Arrighetti will be recalled to take Javier's place in the starting rotation, according to manager Joe Espada.

"Neck discomfort, started a few days ago," Espada said. "He tried to work through it but just couldn't happen. This kind of just came out of nowhere. So, we are going to see what happens here."

Hunter Brown started in Javier's place Sunday in the rubber match of the three-game series, taking the loss as the Washington Nationals defeated the Astros 6-0.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.

Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Wednesday.

"Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we're going to get someone who's been an MVP, a Cy Young [winner] on the mound," Espada said. "It's [good] for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction."

Astros ace Justin Verlander will throw a side session Tuesday, and if that goes well he'll make his season debut this weekend against the Washington Nationals.

Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Monday but wouldn't say which game of the series Verlander would start. The three-game set begins Friday night.

"He's in a good spot," Espada said. "He feels good. He feels confident. He wants to contribute. He knows that we need him on the mound, we need his presence and right now and he's right where he needs to be."

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander pitched four innings Saturday night for Double-A Corpus Christi in what is expected to be his final minor league rehab outing before rejoining the major-league rotation.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner gave up six runs -- five earned -- and seven hits against the Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas Rangers affiliate. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.

The 41-year-old Verlander opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder.

The Houston Astros are promoting pitching prospect Spencer Arrighetti, according to a report.

The right-hander is expected to make his Major League debut on Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals.

Houston drafted Arrighetti in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Louisiana. 

The Houston Astros have placed Framber Valdez on the injured list because of elbow soreness.

Houston is hoping Valdez will miss just a few starts.

"He's going to need some time to recover," Joe Espada said. "We'll watch the inflammation to see how quickly that comes down. Hopefully it could just be maybe two starts and we'll get him back on the mound."

Valdez was scratched from his scheduled start, returned to Houston on Monday night and was diagnosed with inflammation on top of the elbow.

"I didn't get any news on the ligament, just inflammation in that elbow," Espada said. "We'll see where he's at in a day or two. We can get him back throwing and then we can assess how quickly we can get him back going. I think that's pretty decent news."

Framber Valdez was scratched from his scheduled start against the Texas Rangers on Monday night because of left elbow soreness.

The Houston Astros said Valdez played catch Sunday and reported soreness in the elbow.

The 30-year-old was sent back to Houston for further evaluation, but the club hasn't placed him on the injured list.

"We just want to see what the doctor says," manager Joe Espada said. "And we'll go from there."