Christian Javier was demoted to AAA. At first glance this seems head-scratching: Javier is the fourth starter. Shouldn’t the fifth starter be demoted to make room for Jake Odorizzi? Javier, in his two starts, has been nothing short of brilliant (0.92 WHIP, 2.08 ERA, 1.65 FIP). The arrival of Odorizzi, however, coincides with a stretch of games that will allow the Astros to keep their starters on schedule.
A modern starting pitcher throws every fifth day on normal rest. One needs a five-man rotation to avoid short rest. However, the Astros had and will have off days on 4/11, 4/15, and 4/19.