In Houston, Kai‑Wei Teng exemplifies deeper problems, some self‑inflicted and others inherent to this turbulent Astros season. Ideally, he would serve as a swingman on a fully healthy staff, providing multi‑inning relief to protect the bullpen.
On Monday night, with the staff still finding its footing, Teng took the mound. His command was lacking, his fastball velocity reduced, and after three innings he had already allowed five runs to the Detroit Tigers.
Teng remained in the game for the fourth inning, while left‑hander Steven Okert entered the bullpen, indicating that manager Joe Espada considered alternative options during the 9‑3 defeat.
Managers face no easy decisions, and Espada, in the final year of his contract, has faced intense scrutiny since his breakout season.
Espada has demonstrated this approach, drafting 74 distinct lineups in the first 74 games and employing numerous pinch hitters to exploit late‑inning platoon matchups. His bullpen strategy has become more aggressive while still safeguarding reliever health.
Attempting to extract three additional outs from Teng on Monday highlighted the challenge; he recorded only one, prompting Espada to bring in Okert, who struck out two batters on eight pitches and limited the deficit to two runs.
With five innings left, Espada sought to keep the contest close, relying on his reliable reliever Okert, whose contribution masked a broader issue.
Okert’s eight pitches were all he could deliver. Three days earlier, he logged a season‑high seven outs in a 28‑pitch appearance that should not have been required. Meanwhile, Tatsuya Imai, a $18 million enigma, failed to complete the first inning after being handed a nine‑run lead before delivering a pitch.
Houston prevailed over the Kansas City Royals, yet the incident raised concerns about Imai’s performance. The team employed six relievers, three of whom threw at least 27 pitches, a situation that warrants caution.
Failing to maintain a 9‑0 lead in the first inning is unacceptable, a recurring theme this season, and Monday presented another chance to address it.
This marks the third occasion in the franchise’s 65‑year history that the staff recorded at least 18 strikeouts while still losing; the other two defeats were by a single run.
Kai-Wei Teng could only look on after giving up a third-inning home run to the Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson. (Thomas Shea / Imagn Images)
Houston fell by six on Monday, with Imai’s lingering collapse still influencing the outcome. Re‑deploying an ineffective Teng for the fourth inning directly contributed to the loss, as did Okert’s limited availability against a Tigers lineup that began six left‑handed hitters.
Prior to the game, Houston optioned rookie reliever Alimber Santa, who had already pitched on both Saturday and Sunday after the bullpen’s overuse following Imai’s outing on Friday.
Jayden Murray was called upon to replace Santa and surrendered a two‑run home run to Colt Keith in the seventh, extending Detroit’s lead to five runs — an insurmountable margin for a top‑heavy Houston lineup struggling against an improvised Tigers bullpen.
Murray’s ERA stands at 7.43 over 13 ⅓ major‑league innings, while Santa posted a 0.71 ERA across 12 ⅔ innings. It is uncertain whether Santa would have performed better on Monday or pitched at all, but the situation mirrored the type of game Espada previously deployed Santa in during his major‑league tenure.
Teng’s ERA has risen to 8.83 over his last four starts. After Monday, Espada questioned whether fatigue played a role, a concern that may affect other arms as well. Teng has logged 54 ⅓ innings this season, not exceeding 87 in either of the previous two outings, and his four‑seam fastball averaged 92.5 mph on Monday — 1.4 mph below his season average.
“I haven’t felt any different from my previous starts, and I don’t feel fatigued now,” Teng said through an interpreter.
Teng recorded nine strikeouts on Monday, inducing 14 whiffs on 30 swings. While valuable, his effectiveness in the bullpen — where he posted a 2.35 ERA in his first 14 appearances of the season — warrants further consideration by Astros officials.
“If you want a spot in the rotation, you must earn it,” Teng said. “I will continue working, put this outing behind me, and hope to remain in that role,” he added, noting that the six pitchers acquired by general manager Dana Brown this winter have compiled a 5.82 ERA over 207 ⅓ innings.
Hunter Brown’s return to the rotation on Tuesday will intensify the conversation. The Astros then face 15 games in 16 days, including a stretch of 13 consecutive contests, a schedule that suggests the need for a six‑man rotation, a plan Espada has not indicated he will adopt.
“We’ll go day by day for now,” Espada said. “We’re still working through how to manage that 13‑game stretch and line up our starters, ensuring we don’t run short on bullpen resources.”
This pattern repeats too often, which is why returning Teng to the bullpen appears to be the most logical next step.
“We haven’t had those conversations yet,” Teng said. “Regardless of whether Hunter Brown or another player returns, and regardless of whether the team needs me as a starter or a reliever, I will do my best to help the team win.”
Teng did not contribute on Monday, and the Astros are now 3‑4 in a schedule that should be relatively easy — nine games against the Royals, Tigers, and Angels, all of which entered the day with worse records than Houston.
“We’re playing better, but we’re still not where we want to be relative to our full potential,” Espada said before the game.
Whether the Astros will ever achieve that remains a legitimate question. Hunter Brown’s return may be their best hope, though he can only pitch every five or six days, a scenario that should be encouraging.
Few of the other options inspire comparable optimism.
