Might 11: Altuve just isn’t within the Astros’ lineup right now, however supervisor Joe Espada instructed reporters (together with Chandler Rome of The Athletic) this morning that the veteran got here in right now feeling higher and that he might be again within the lineup in a day or two.
Might 10: Astros veteran Jose Altuve started right now’s recreation in opposition to the Reds at second base, however was pinch hit for by Brendan Rodgers within the third inning. Houston later introduced that he had departed the sport with what they termed “tightness” in his proper hamstring.
Additional details about Altuve’s standing will seemingly be out there after the sport, together with whether or not the difficulty is extreme sufficient that the 35-year-old would require a visit to the injured record. Altuve has gone on the shelf as a consequence of hamstring issues twice in his profession, as soon as in 2019 and as soon as in 2022, although each of these cases have been as a consequence of strains of his left hamstring. That he doesn’t have a considerable historical past of hamstring points on his proper aspect supplies some purpose for optimism, nevertheless it ought to nonetheless be anticipated that the Astros will at the least ship Altuve for an MRI to find out the severity of the difficulty. Even gentle hamstring strains can take a couple of weeks to recuperate, so it will hardly be a shock if the membership ended up deciding to position Altuve on the 10-day injured record.
Smart as that call could also be, it will be tough for the Astros to interchange Altuve. The nine-time All-Star hasn’t seemed like himself on the plate this yr, hitting simply .259/.304/.374 with a beneath common 93 wRC+ and what could be the best strikeout price of his profession in a 162-game season, however Houston’s depth from which to interchange Altuve is the lineup is minimal at finest. Rodgers and Mauricio Dubon would absolutely be the membership’s decisions to deal with duties on the keystone, however each have hit even lower than Altuve up to now within the calendar. Second base is not Altuve’s main place, nevertheless, after he moved to left discipline throughout Spring Coaching.
With Yordan Alvarez already on the injured record at current, the membership’s outfield and DH combine could be paper skinny if Altuve have been to be faraway from the combo. Jake Meyers is enjoying each day in middle discipline, however the outfield corners could be patrolled by some mixture of Cam Smith (95 wRC+), Chas McCormick (90 wRC+), and Zach Dezenzo. Dezenzo has largely seemed good (117 wRC+) in 20 video games with the Astros this yr, although his 29.5% strikeout price is excessive sufficient to boost alarm bells. Maybe Yainer Diaz can assist fill in at DH till Alvarez returns from the shelf with Victor Caratini becoming a member of the lineup behind the plate, however that does little to unravel the lackluster manufacturing from the outfield corners.
Even with Altuve within the combine, the Astros’ manufacturing in left discipline this yr is the third weakest in all of baseball. Eradicating Altuve from the combo would solely serve to weaken that manufacturing, and the one different outfielder on the 40-man roster is Kenedy Corona, who sports activities a lackluster 67 wRC+ on the Triple-A stage this yr. Barring an exterior addition or the shock promotion of a prospect like Jacob Melton, an harm for Altuve would seemingly imply even rougher manufacturing within the outfield for an Astros membership that has already fallen to 3rd place within the AL West with a pedestrian 19-18 document.
