Jose Altuve Exits Game With Foot Discomfor

September 14: GM Dana Brown told the Astros pregame radio show today ( ) that, while Altuve is set to be out of the lineup, hes expected to mi s two days tops due to the foot sorene s he suffered from last night. September 13: The Astros removed veteran star from their win over the Braves in the third inning today due to what the team has termed right foot discomfort. The specifics of Altuves ailment werent immediately clear, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including ) after the game that Altuves foot began bothering him after he ran the bases in the third inning, leading them to take him out of the game as a precaution. Espada noted that Altuve is still being evaluated, but the update seems fairly encouraging. It goes without saying that losing Altuve for any amount of time would be a substantial blow to the Astros at a crucial point in the season. They have a measly half-game lead over the Mariners pending the outcome of tonights game in Seattle, and the Rangers lurk just two games behind P. J. Tucker Jersey them. While most division leaders have their spot in the postseason locked up at this point, the Astros actually have just an 80.0% chance to make it to October , arent even favored to win the AL West despite the marginal lead theyre clinging to. Altuve will be crucial if the club is going to avoid getting overtaken in the postseason race, much le s make an impact once they get to October. The longtime second baseman has begun playing some outfield this year due to the teams lack of quality depth on the gra s, although hes largely split time between second base and DH in more recent weeks. Altuve has been slumping recently, with a .208/.276/.383 slash line n 38 games since the start of August. Those numbers arent exactly encouraging, but with a 112 wRC+ on the year and no below average performances since 2013 excepting the shortened 2020 season, Altuve is a relatively safe bet to bounce back if healthy. The Astros will now need to weigh whether to have him play through the foot i sue thats currently ailing him, or to try and work in some extra rest for him (or even place him on the IL) despite the hotly-contested pennant race the Astros find themselves in. If Altuve does need some time off, the presence of deadline pickup and longtime utilityman as viable second base options should help to le sen the blow somewhat. occupies the DH slot on most days at this point, leaving the outfield to some combination of Altuve, Dubon, , , , , and on any given day. Meyers is the only true everyday player in that group, though Cole has gotten off to a hot start and could see regular playing time if he can keep the good times rolling. It seems likely that if Altuve is dealing with a nagging foot i sue, the Astros will try to keep his time in the outfield to a minimum. That could mean a larger opportunity for Cole while Sanchez and Smith platoon in right field, leaving Taylor Trammell to spell Cole and see use primarily as a reserve player. Things could get more complicated if the team makes a deep enough run in the postseason that manages to work his way back into the conversation, however. A hamstring injury that seemed as though it might be season-ending sidelined Paredes nearly two months ago, but he decided to forgo surgery in favor of rehabbing in hopes of returning for the postseason. While theres still no timetable for his return, Espada told reporters ( ) that Paredes is taking live at-bats at the clubs Spring Training complex in West Palm Beach and has begun to run the bases. Its not clear what intensity Paredes is currently running at, but Espada said the current plan is for him to simply continue ramping up his at-bats, running, and ground balls at third base in hopes of a return. If Paredes were to return to action at some point this year, that would leave the Astros with a bit of a positional logjam. Paredes is capable of playing third base, first base, and DH. and currently occupy the infield corners, however, meaning that Paredes would most likely have to push Alvarez and his lackluster glove into left field by taking up the DH role. If hes healthy enough to play the field at some point this postseason, its at least plausible that the Astros could try Correa at second base with Altuve in left field to fit Paredes at first and keep Alvarez at DH, but theres plenty of problems with that plan. Correa has no experience at the keystone as a profe sional, for one, and given Altuves own lackluster defense in the outfield its debatable how much of an upgrade he would even be over Alvarez. That could leave Paredes limited to a bench/pinch hitting role in the playoffs if he returns and the Astros dont want to risk using Alvarez in the outfield, though obviously that would be a great problem for Houston to have considering Paredess talent (he made the All-Star game and crushed 19 homers in just 94 games) and the fact that him becoming a factor would likely mean they made a fairly deep postseason run, given his uncertain timeline. Christian Wood Jersey