Zachary Cole: Everything you need to know

Cole (toe) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Fayetteville on Thursday. Cole opened the season at Triple-A Round Rock after failing to make the Astros' Opening Day roster. He then suffered a broken toe in the third game of the season after going 1-for-9 with a solo homer and 2:4 BB:K across 12 trips to the plate. With all four of Jake Meyers (oblique), Taylor Trammell (groin), Joey Loperfido (quadriceps) and Zach Dezenzo (elbow) on the injured list, Cole has missed out on a chance to play with the big-league club early in the season. He still could be an option to be recalled if his rehab goes smoothly.

Cole has been ruled out indefinitely after fracturing a toe on his right foot during Monday's game against Triple-A Round Rock, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. Cole suffered the injury in the fourth inning of Monday's matchup after being struck by a pitch. This is an unfortunate injury for one of Houston's top prospects, who was in contention for a spot on the big-league club's Opening Day roster. A timeline for Cole's return has not been established at this time.

The Astros optioned Cole to Triple-A Sugar Land on Wednesday. Over the final two and a half weeks of the 2025 season, Cole turned some heads by producing a .255/.327/.553 slash line in his first taste of the big leagues, though it came with a bloated 38.5 percent strikeout rate. After Cole continued to strike out at a 40 percent clip during the Grapefruit League and was unable to provide enough power (.200 ISO) to compensate for it, the Astros will elect to send the 25-year-old back to Triple-A for further refinement. Houston will carry Brice Matthews on its Opening Day roster as a fourth outfielder and backup infielder.