Astros getting close to full strength with key players returning from injury
INJURY UPDATE
23 August 2023
INJURY UPDATE
The Houston Astros have done a terrific job this season of battling through significant injuries to the ball club. And it appears their patience is being rewarded, with Jose Abreu (back) officially off the IL and starting at first base in Wednesday's lineup.
Midweek matchup.Â
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Phil Maton (right elbow contusion) is also expected back as soon as the end of upcoming Tigers series, which starts this Friday, after throwing a successful bullpen session this week.
Michael Brantley (shoulder surgery) could soon join the club as well. Brantley is set to play for the second straight day/game for Sugar Land on Wednesday night, and if all goes well, we should know something soon, according to Astros GM Dana Brown. Fingers crossed.
Brown also discussed the status of Yordan Alvarez (sore finger) on the team's flagship station on Wednesday. He said Yordan is day-to-day, and the injury is nothing serious. Dana even said we could see Yordan pinch-hitting Wednesday or Thursday. The team was concerned that the soreness and swelling could cause some bad habits when swinging the bat.
Watch out MLB if the Astros get fully healthy for the stretch run.
Both continue to roll along despite rashes of injuries. When the Astros awoke May 24 their record sat at 26-25. Since then they have gone 26-10. That is a dominant stretch despite this clearly not being a dominant team. The still Alvarez-less offense is mediocre. So is the starting pitching apart from the one-two awesome punch that Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have been. When Brown or Valdez has been the Astrosâ starting pitcher this season, the team record is 25-9. With anyone else making the start, 27-26. They have been every bit as dynamic a duo so far in 2025 that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were for the Astros in 2019 when Verlander edged out Cole to win his third Cy Young Award. Brown is a lock to be named to his first American League All-Star team this Sunday. Valdez is worthy of a third consecutive selection but could get caught in a numbers squeeze. Eight or nine starting pitchers are picked for each league.
The Dodgers wonât face Brown this weekend, but will have to deal with Valdez on Saturday night. His mound counterpart will be Shohei Ohtani. Oooooooh! Framber didnât give up a run in 13 innings over his last two starts, and over his last 10 outings has a super-spiffy 1.72 earned run average. The amazing Ohtani is easing back into pitching after his second Tommy John surgery. Ohtani has started three games, totaling just four innings. He has yet to throw 30 pitches in an outing. Saturday he probably will be allowed 30 to 40.
Arms race
While Fridayâs outing isnât remotely a make or break start for Lance McCullers, it does speak to a significant question the Astros hope to find a pleasing answer to over the remainder of the regular season. Who is their third starting pitcher in a playoff series? After Brown and Valdez there is simply no one who inspires confidence at this point. McCullers has been awful his last two times out, jacking up his ERA to 6.61 eight starts into his season. 20 walks issued in 32 2 /3 innings pitched is glaringly bad. McCullers is still reasonably in ramp up mode, but given his injury history along with performance concerns, the third starter spot canât be considered his to lose. Spencer Arrighettiâs resume is thin but his return at the level he pitched at after the All-Star break last season would be massive. Colt Gordon and Brandon Walter have both done some nice fill-in work, but no one plausibly wants them starting what would be a do or die game if the Astros wind up in a game three of a best-of-three Wild Card series.
Historic achievement
Not as if itâs subplot or anything this weekend, but letâs call it notable that the two active career hits leaders in Major League Baseball share the field this weekend. Jose Altuve this week vaulted past Jeff Bagwell for second in Astrosâ history behind Craig Biggio. Altuve enters the weekend 743 hits behind Biggio. He is no lock to catch him before Altuveâs five-year contract expires at the end of the 2029 season. Altuve will be 39 then. Biggio was 41 when he rapped his 3000th hit, then added 60 more before beginning the waiting game for election to the Hall of Fame.
Like Biggio got and presumably someday Altuve will get, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman will get the call from Cooperstown some day. Like Altuve, Freeman is 35 years old, has won a Most Valuable Player Award, one Gold Glove, and with his selection this week been named an All-Star nine times. Aaron Judge may change this in the next couple of years, but among active players only Mike Trout (by a long shot) has compiled more Baseball-Reference offensive Wins Above Replacement than Freeman (second) and Altuve (third).
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold âStros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!Â
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