Yordan Alvarez’s nightmare season has taken another disconcerting turn.
The Houston Astros slugger has been shut down again as he recovers from a right hand fracture.
Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown said prior to Tuesday’s 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies that Alvarez, 28, will see a hand specialist on Wednesday after experiencing renewed discomfort while rehabbing the injury.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow but at the end of the day his health is the most important thing here,” Brown said via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. “And so, we’ll let him take the time that he needs to get completely healed.”
The three-time All-Star has been on the IL since May 5. Prior to the injury, he was slashing .210/.306/.340 with only three home runs and 18 RBI in 100 at-bats.
Yordan Alvarez Has Been Out Since May
Alvarez has not played in a game since May 2, but he had recently started taking batting practice again, and there was optimism he could make his long-awaited return to the lineup sometime before the All-Star break.
“We felt like he was close because he had felt so good of late,” Brown said via the Associated Press. “But this is certainly news that we didn’t want.”
The injury was originally characterized as a muscle strain, but when Alvarez’s hand started hurting again in late May, imaging revealed a fracture of the fourth metacarpal.
At the time, Brown said swelling in Alvarez’s hand prevented the team from seeing the fracture in initial scans. Alvarez suspects he may have exacerbated the injury while trying to play through it.
When Could Yordan Alvarez Return?
The Astros remain atop the American League West at 51-34, 7.0 games in front of the Seattle Mariners. They are also 35-19 without Alvarez in the lineup.
Brown stressed that the team will proceed carefully with Alvarez, knowing the risks involved.
“If we rush him back and then he reinjures the hand and then now you’re potentially looking at the loss of the season,” Brown said via MLB.com. “I think it’s wise to pump the brakes while he’s feeling the soreness and get a deeper look and find out what the deal is and take it from there.”
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara, Brown said he hopes to have a better understanding of Alvarez’s prognosis over the next 48 hours, including whether surgery is on the table.
When healthy, Alvarez is one of baseball’s top run producers. Alvarez slugged 30 home runs for the fourth straight season in 2024, finishing with 35 homers, 86 RBI and a .308 batting average.
Astros All-Star Experiences Another Concerning Setback in Injury Rehab