The Houston Astros placed right-hander Cristian Javier on the 15-day injured list Wednesday after he exited Tuesday's start against the Seattle Mariners with right groin tightness. The move ends Javier’s regular season and rules him out for his next scheduled start.

Javier departed after two scoreless innings versus the Mariners. Despite the injury, he said after the game through an interpreter that he expected to be ready for his next outing. That will no longer be possible following his placement on the injured list.

Javier recorded a 1.96 ERA across four starts in September, covering 18 1/3 innings. However, his regular season was already interrupted by a shoulder strain that kept him out for three months. He finishes the year with a 5.14 ERA over 63 innings during the fourth season of his five-year, $64 million extension.

Houston selected 29-year-old left-hander Josh Hendrickson from Triple-A Sugar Land to fill Javier's spot. If Hendrickson takes the mound, it would be his Major League debut. He spent the entire season with Sugar Land, compiling a 9-7 record and a 4.75 ERA in 23 appearances, including 19 starts. He struck out 106 batters and issued 27 walks over 113 2/3 innings.

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Hendrickson also worked three innings and threw 46 pitches in Sugar Land's regular-season finale Sunday. His ability to cover multiple innings could be useful after the Astros used four relievers Tuesday, with Bennett Sousa, Miguel Ullola and Logan VanWey each throwing two innings.

To clear a 40-man roster spot for Hendrickson, Houston transferred outfielder Jake Meyers to the 60-day injured list. Meyers, the Astros' Opening Day center fielder, had been sent to Triple-A in early July and was ruled out for the remainder of the season after fouling a ball off his knee on Sept. 11.

Hendrickson originally joined Houston as a Minor League free agent on April 18. The Perth, Australia, native spent parts of five minor-league seasons in the organization after being selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 38th round of the 2019 Draft. He also pitched three innings in one game for Team Australia during the World Baseball Classic.

The Astros entered Wednesday tied with the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.