Smith (elbow) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith spent nearly a month on the injured list, but he recently made two rehab and struck out three in two perfect innings across a pair of relief appearances. He'll now rejoin the Astros' bullpen after infielder Taylor Jones was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move.

Smith (elbow) struck out one over a scoreless inning for Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Smith, who has been shelved since early June with soreness, began a rehab assignment Thursday. As a reliever, Smith will not need many rehab outings before he's available to be reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

Smith (elbow) will report to Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday to begin a rehab assignment, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran righty has been on the shelf since early June with elbow soreness, and he's progressed to the final stage of his recovery. Smith should require a couple appearances in the minors and could rejoin the Astros over the weekend or early next week.

Smith (elbow) will throw a bullpen session Friday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith traveled with the Astros for their series in Detroit, and he'll throw all of his pitches during his throwing session at Comerica Park on Friday. The team is expected to determine whether the right-hander will require a rehab assignment based on how he feels after his bullpen session.

Smith (elbow) is expected to join the Astros for their upcoming series in Detroit, which begins Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Smith last pitched June 5 and apparently will not require any sort of rehab. Until now, there has been no news regarding bullpen sessions or other activity typical for a rehabbing pitcher, but it appears Smith is quite close to returning.

The Astros placed Smith on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to right elbow soreness, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

After opting out of last season for personal reasons, the 37-year-old right-hander hasn't been able to regain top form upon rejoining Houston in 2021. Through his 22 appearances, Smith has posted a 6.23 ERA and a 13.3 K-BB% across 17.1 innings. The Astros had already been using Smith mostly in low-leverage spots, and now that he'll be working back from a sore elbow, he's unlikely to capture a key setup role once he's activated from the IL.

Smith set down all three batters he faced in the ninth inning of Thursday's 1-0 loss to Seattle.

EDGE Analysis

Smith had an encouraging series against the Mariners, appearing in two of the four games while picking up a win over two scoreless innings. After a stretch of three consecutive scoreless outings, Smith's ERA is below 10.00 (9.39) for the first time since April 5.

Smith (1-1) allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless eighth inning to pick up the win over Seattle on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

Smith hasn't pitched well this season, but he was the pitcher of record when the Astros sent four runners across home plate in the bottom of the eighth inning to wrest a win from the Mariners. He fanned the first two batters he faced before giving up a single to Dylan Moore, who was then picked off. It was the second straight scoreless outing for Smith, lowering his ERA to 10.80.

Smith (0-1) took the loss Monday after allowing three runs on two hits and a hit batsman against the Angels.

EDGE Analysis

Charged with protecting a two-run lead in the eighth inning, Smith couldn't retire any of the three batters he faced. He hit the third hitter, Shohei Ohtani, which prompted a stare down from the two-way star, but the situation fortunately didn't escalate. Smith departed after that, leaving a mess for Blake Taylor, who could not prevent the potent Angels from taking the lead.

Smith allowed two hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in Thursday's 8-1 win over the Athletics.

EDGE Analysis

Smith began warming up in preparation for the eighth inning when Houston was still clinging to a 3-1 lead. That's an indication that he will be the primary setup option for closer Ryan Pressly. The Astros never needed Pressly, because they plated two runs in the top of the eighth and another three in the ninth to win going away.