- Astros outfielder Michael Brantley is eligible for activation Saturday, but manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters he’s “not real optimistic” that will happen. It seems Brantley will need a bit more time to recover from a right quad injury that has kept him out since Aug. 11. Baker also suggested (via Rome) that yet another Astro – right-hander Josh James – will probably go on the IL. James suffered a hip injury and had to be helped off the field in Colorado on Thursday. That continued a nightmare of a season for James, who has surrendered 13 earned runs on 12 hits and 14 walks (with 13 strikeouts) in 10 2/3 innings.
Astros Rumors
Astros Place Alex Bregman On Injured List
The Astros have placed third baseman Alex Bregman on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring, manager Dusty Baker announced to reporters Thursday (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Bregman is traveling home to Houston to undergo an MRI and determine the severity of the injury. Left-hander Cionel Perez has been recalled from the Astros’ alternate training site to take Bregman’s spot on the roster.
Injuries continue to mount at an alarming rate for the Astros, who this week learned that Yordan Alvarez will require season-ending knee surgery. Houston has also received just one start from Justin Verlander in 2020, while closer Roberto Osuna is staring down a potential Tommy John surgery (though he’ll first attempt to rehab). Brad Peacock and Jose Urquidy, expected to be key members of the bullpen and rotation, respectively, have not thrown a pitch this year. Michael Brantley, meanwhile, has been on the IL for nearly a week and was sidelined prior to that due to a quadriceps strain. George Springer has missed time due to a wrist strain but is playing through it rather than going on the IL.
With Bregman out, the ’Stros will very likely turn third base over to young Abraham Toro. A well-regarded 23-year-old, Toro hasn’t hit much in limited Major League time yet, but he obliterated Double-A pitching (.306/.393/.513 in 435 PAs) and Triple-A pitching (.424/.506/.606 in 79 PAs) alike in 2019.
Houston’s DH situation is a bit more tenuous. Kyle Tucker is manning left field on a regular basis in the absence of Brantley. Alvarez is out for the season, and Toro could see regular reps at third for at least the immediate future. That’ll push one of Myles Straw, Jack Mayfield or rookie Taylor Jones into the lineup with regularity.
Alex Bregman Exits With Hamstring Injury
9:50pm: Bregman left with hamstring discomfort and is day to day, Mark Berman of Fox 26 was among those to report.
8:41pm: Astros superstar third baseman Alex Bregman exited their game Wednesday with a potential leg or ankle injury, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Bregman departed immediately after limping to second base on a double.
More on the severity of Bregman’s issue should be known soon, though it’s obvious losing him for any extended period would be yet another massive blow to an injury-riddled Houston club. The Astros lost one of their premier hitters, Yordan Alvarez, for the season because of a knee injury Wednesday. They’ve also been without reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander for almost all of the campaign on account of a forearm strain, and there’s no word on when he could return. Furthermore, Michael Brantley, Roberto Osuna, Aledmys Diaz, Brad Peacock and Jose Urquidy are also on the IL right now.
To the Astros’ credit, they have overcome their injury obstacles to begin the season 13-10, just one game back of wild-card position. Bregman has helped keep them afloat with a .272/.374/.500 line and four home runs in 108 plate appearances. Those aren’t the otherworldly, MVP-type numbers Bregman put up from 2018-19, but they’re still far above the league average.
Yordan Alvarez To Undergo Surgery, Miss Rest Of Season
4:38pm: Baker announced Alvarez will undergo surgery on a partial tear of his right patella tendon and miss the rest of the season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets.
1:12pm: The Astros welcomed reigning AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez back for one game before knee troubles forced him from the lineup and eventually landed him on the injured list. Now, manager Dusty Baker tells Ross Villarreal of Sports Talk 790 in Houston that the slugger’s season is in jeopardy (Twitter link). “Yordan Alvarez, it looks like he’s done, maybe for the year,” Baker said of his designated hitter.
Knee troubles are nothing new for Alvarez, as he dealt with discomfort throughout his excellent rookie season and was hobbled during the original iteration of Spring Training as well. Details on the status of his knees have always been somewhat muddled, though. And as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle points out (via Twitter), the Jeff Luhnow/A.J. Hinch regime and the James Click/Dusty Baker-led Astros have both been similarly vague when it comes to discussing Alvarez’s knees.
It’s been an injury-decimated season for the Astros. Justin Verlander has made just one start, while closer Roberto Osuna has been diagnosed with UCL damage. Brad Peacock and Jose Urquidy have yet to pitch. Right-hander Chris Devenski, Austin Pruitt and Rogelio Armenteros are all out with elbow troubles. On the position-player side of things, George Springer has been slowed by wrist troubles, and Houston has both Michael Brantley (quadriceps strain) and Aledmys Diaz (groin strain) on the 10-day IL at the moment.
Houston has reeled off six straight wins, boosting its record to 13-10 and surging back into the AL West race. They still trail the division-leading Athletics by two and a half games, but as the current second-place team in the AL West, they’re squarely in postseason position. The ’Stros have received huge performances from rookies Brandon Bielak and Cristian Javier in the rotation, which has helped to keep them afloat amid that barrage of injuries. Their schedule between now and the Aug. 31 trade deadline includes two games in Colorado, three in San Diego, three at home against the Angels and another three at home against the A’s. Houston’s play over the next two weeks will likely determine the deadline strategy, and that final three-game set against Oakland could be particularly pivotal in that regard.
Latest On Yordan Alvarez
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was out of their lineup for the second straight day on Monday on account of right knee soreness, and it doesn’t seem as if a return to a regular role is imminent. While Alvarez’s MRI on Monday came back negative, he may only be a pinch hitter for the club in the near term, Alyson Footer of MLB.com writes. Alvarez’s lack of availability (he didn’t debut until Aug. 14 because of coronavirus-related problems) has been an enormous blow to a Houston team that has also dealt with several other significant health woes in the early going. The club lost yet another standout Saturday when it placed outfielder Michael Brantley on the IL with a right quad injury.
Yordan Alvarez Late Scratch From Astros' Lineup
Yordan Alvarez was a late scratch from today’s Astros lineup, as the young slugger continues to battle knee issues. Manager Dusty Baker told the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters that Alvarez arrived at the ballpark feeling knee soreness, which Baker suspected was from an awkward slide into third base during Saturday’s game. Alvarez has been dealing with bad knees throughout his young career, and he has already been limited to DH duty for this season.
Astros Place Michael Brantley On 10-Day Injured List
The Astros have placed Michael Brantley on the 10-day injured list due to right quad discomfort, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link) and other reporters. Brantley’s placement is backdated to August 12. A roster replacement won’t be announced until prior to the Astros’ game tomorrow.
An IL stint may have been inevitable for Brantley, who has been bothered by leg problems since he stepped on Joe Kelly’s foot during a play at first base back on July 29. Brantley has been used exclusively as a DH or pinch-hitter over his last 10 games, and he also missed Houston’s last two contests due to his quad.
Despite being less than 100 percent, Brantley has still been his usual productive self, hitting .286/.375/.446 with a home run over 64 plate appearances. His absence is yet another blow to an Astros team that has been hit hard with injuries this season, though at least in this case, Houston has something of a ready-made DH replacement since Yordan Alvarez was just activated off the IL yesterday. An ideal scenario for the Astros would see Brantley return from the injured list recovered and ready to play the outfield, to avoid a designated hitter timeshare with Alvarez since the younger slugger has already been slated for DH-only duty.
Astros Activate Yordan Alvarez
The Astros announced Friday that they’ve activated designated hitter Yordan Alvarez from the injured list. Righty Nivaldo Rodriguez was optioned to the team’s alternate training site to make space on the 28-man roster. This will mark the 2020 debut for Alvarez, last year’s American League Rookie of the Year. The 23-year-old has yet to suit up for the ’Stros after also missing all of Summer Camp.
Alvarez burst onto the scene in 2019, appearing in 87 games down the stretch and overpowering opposing pitchers with a gaudy .313/.412/.655 batting line, 27 home runs and 26 doubles in just 369 trips to the plate. He served primarily as a designated hitter, which is likely to be his primary role with the club moving forward, but Alvarez does experience at first base and in left field. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets, however, that Astros skipper Dusty Baker said this week that Alvarez won’t be playing the outfield when he returns. That could make it tough to get Alvarez and Michael Brantley in the lineup early, as Brantley has been hobbled by a quadriceps issue and working as the Houston DH recently.
The return of Alvarez is a boon for an Astros roster that has been ravaged by injury and underperformance throughout the season. Justin Verlander is sidelined for a yet-to-be-determined chunk of time owing to a forearm strain, and closer Roberto Osuna is dealing with a UCL injury that could necessitate Tommy John surgery. Pitchers Jose Urquidy, Brad Peacock, Austin Pruitt, Rogelio Armenteros, Joe Biagini and Cionel Perez are all on the injured list as well, and star center fielder George Springer has been slowed by a wrist strain over the past week.
The result is an Astros club that currently sits third in the AL West at 8-10. Houston’s collective .238/.330/.403 batting line translates to a 106 wRC+ that ranks ninth among big league teams. The pitching staff ranks 11th in ERA (4.09) but 20th in FIP (4.46) and 25th in xFIP (4.77). The Astros trail the division-leading Athletics (13-6) by four and a half games and the second-place Rangers (8-9) by half a game.
Latest On Justin Verlander
The Astros are badly in need of several missing stars. Perhaps no absence is more notable than that of staff ace Justin Verlander.
Last we checked in, Verlander was not progressing as rapidly from a forearm strain as he had hoped. But it seems now that he’s nearing readiness for an attempt at a return.
Verlander is “making excellent progress,” per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. If all goes as planned, he could be throwing within a week. It’s anyone’s guess how things will progress from that point, but it’d be possible to imagine a late-2020 resumption of play.
Both Verlander and the ’Stros are surely thinking about more than 2020 alone. He’s under contract for 2021 as well, at a guaranteed $33MM salary.
Yordan Alvarez “Very Close” To Return; Roberto Osuna Will Attempt Rehab
Astros manager Dusty Baker said today that outfielder/DH Yordan Alvarez is “very close” to returning to action, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 was among those to cover (Twitter links). The skipper also revealed that closer Roberto Osuna will attempt to rehab and return later this season.
A precise timeline isn’t yet known for Alvarez, but it sounds as if the young slugger’s activation is imminent. He was cleared to resume training on July 24th after an unexplained but presumptively coronavirus-related absence. Adding Alvarez back into the lineup would be a big boost for the scuffling Houston squad.
As for Osuna, it’s quite a bit less clear where things are headed. His worrisome elbow situation has left a hole at the back of the Astros bullpen. He’s going to rest and rehab for a stretch, with eyes on a possible late-2020 comeback.
That’s far from a guarantee that Osuna will be able to avoid Tommy John surgery, let alone contribute again this season. But it’s a better outlook than had been indicated a week ago, when it seemed a surgical procedure was the likeliest outcome.
In other updates, the Astros have a trio of hurlers that are still moving in the right direction. Chris Devenski, Brad Peacock, and Jose Urquidy are all gearing up in bullpen sessions, though it remains unknown just when they’ll be ready for MLB action.
