José Urquidy evaluated after injury

OAKLAND, Calif. — Astros starter Jose Urquidy was evaluated Saturday after leaving a minor league rehab session Friday with what the team called “right forearm discomfort,” it said. manager Joe Espada.

Urquidy’s setback puts his bid to join the Astros on hold because of a forearm muscle strain suffered in spring training that sidelined him for the start of the season. Urquidy was making his third rehab start Friday at Triple-A Sugar Land when he exited in the fourth inning after 56 pitches.

“It’s not ideal,” Espada said before the Astros played at Oakland on Saturday. “We were counting on him to come in at some point next week and help give us a little more depth to our rotation. It’s unfortunate because he worked so hard to come back. Hopefully the doctors today will get a decent report and we can get him back at some point this season.

Houston will get starter Ronel Blanco back from a 10-game suspension for a foreign substance violation on Sunday. That will leave the Astros with six active starters. Espada said the team has yet to nail down its rotation for the upcoming four-game series in Seattle and is still considering whether to continue with a six-player rotation for now.

Rookie Spencer Arrighetti, whose place in the rotation appeared threatened with Urquidy’s return, started Saturday against the A’s. Getting Urquidy back also could have forced the Astros, if they return to a five-man rotation at some point, to decide on a role for Hunter Brown. Brown has a 7.06 ERA, but pitched six innings with two runs allowed in his last start Thursday against the Angels.

The Astros began a 13-day streak Friday and could use a six-man rotation during that stretch. Justin Verlander, who pitched Friday, would stay on to pitch in Seattle against the division-leading Mariners with four or five days off. Espada said he wanted to gauge how Verlander felt after pitching Saturday and how Cristian Javier felt after his bullpen Sunday.

“We’re waiting to see which direction we’re going to go,” Espada said. “It’s kind of day to day.”