Don’t you know that an eyebrow or two was raised around town with the following disclosure deep within Jose de Jesus Ortiz’s Chronicle article today on the return of the Stros off-season acquisition Jason Jennings from a bout of tendonitis in his pitching elbow:

Jennings, who is earning $5.5 million this year, was 9-13 with a 3.75 ERA last year with the Rockies. The workload was a testament to his pain tolerance. He dealt with discomfort since June and skipped bullpen sessions between starts for most of the second half. It’s too early to tell whether he’ll need surgery to fix his elbow.

Jennings is eligible to become a free agent after this season, so it was a bit odd that the Stros announced that they had put contract negotiations on hold with Jennings until after the season shortly after Jennings went on the disabled list. Jennings is a proven MLB starter and overuse injury risk is a fact of life for MLB pitchers. However, if Jennings and the Rockies did not disclose that Jennings was dealing with the condition last season when the clubs consummated the trade for Jennings, or if the Stros medical team believes that the condition is more serious than mere tendonitis, then that would certainly explain the Stros’ stance in backing off of contract negotiations. One can’t blame Stros management for being a bit miffed that the club traded away its best minor league pitching prospect, Jason Hirsh, for goods that the club did not know were damaged.
By the way, the other players involved in the Jennings deal haven’t set the league on fire. Hirsh has been slightly above-average for the Rockies with a 2 RSAA and 4.30 ERA in 60 innings of work so far this season (10 starts, 2-4 record). The other two former Stros players included in the deal — CF Willy Taveras (-4 RCAA/.378 OBA/.340 SLG/.719 OPS) and pitcher Taylor Buchholz (-4 RSAA/5.81 ERA) — continue to be well below-average MLB players. The throw-in from the Rockies to the Stros in the deal — Miguel Ascencio — has been horrible at AAA Round Rock, giving up 23 earned runs and 37 hits in 23 innings of work, which computes to an atrocious 8.75 ERA as a reliever. Somehow, he retains a spot on the Stros’ 40 man roster.