Astros' Luis Garcia: Could return this weekend

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Garcia (elbow) could be activated from the 60-day injured list as soon as this weekend for the Astros' four-game series against the Angels, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Garcia's latest rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday went well, as he struck out five over six innings of one-run ball. He averaged 91.7 miles per hour and topped out at 93.5 mph with his four-seamer, which is notably down from the 94 mph he averaged in his last full season in 2022. Still, while Garcia has had numerous starts and stops during his comeback from May 2023 Tommy John surgery, the results have been solid during his rehab assignment, as he holds a 3.30 ERA and 38:7 K:BB over 30 innings. The Astros are currently using a six-man rotation; they could either keep that setup in place and have Garcia replace Jason Alexander, or they could pair Garcia with another hurler -- likely Cristian Javier or Lance McCullers -- for piggyback starts.