Houston Astros: Bregman’s recovery from surgery will strengthen team

Houston Astros star third baseman Alex Bregman had surgery earlier today to repair a nagging elbow injury. He looks to be back on March 1st, let’s take a look.

According to Houston Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart, Astros third baseman, Alex Bregman had elbow surgery earlier today to remove loose particles that apparently has been bothering him since 2016. Bregman spoke to McTaggart in depth about the injury, saying this was the perfect time to have the procedure,

"“Ever since probably 2016, my arm’s been bugging me since about Spring Training,” he said. “It never was worse, though, than this offseason in December around Christmastime, where it locked out. That’s the thing you read about bone chips and your arm locking and not being able to move it.“So my arm locked out, and it just was like so stiff to where I could barely move it. I had to go get a CT scan, and it showed that I had bone chips in it. It’s something you can play through a little bit, but when it locks out, you’re looking at a DL stint, and I wasn’t willing to risk going on the DL this year for something I know I could fix before the season started. So we went ahead and knocked it out.”"

Bregman says that he is expecting to play on March 1st, which is a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Last year, Bregman played in 157 games with the Houston Astros, going .286, with 31 homers and 103 RBI’s with an OBP % of .394. He led the team in hits, runs, doubles, RBI’s, homers, and walks and OBP, which earned him the team MVP. He was also named the All-Star MVP after his game-winning home run in last year’s contest.

What’s even more amazing is that Alex is the first player in Major League history to have at least 30 home runs and 50 doubles in a season at third base.

Alex is one of the homegrown foundational players since he came to the Houston Astros in the 2015 MLB Draft out of college baseball powerhouse LSU. He made an immediate impact on the Astros since he’s joined the team because he is a superb talent, both offensively and defensively with a bright future ahead of him. He’s only going to get better, which is hard to believe.

He helped lead the team to win the World Series in 2017 and I’m sure he is like a lot of people in Houston, in wanting another World Series championship.

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I couldn’t agree more than he is picking the perfect time to treat his elbow because it doesn’t affect his playing time or ability during the season as the Houston Astros pursue another championship.  I also think it is incredibly smart of him getting this fixed early on his career rather than later, therefore prolonging his career possibly.

Bregman joins fellow Astros teammates Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers who are facing surgery this offseason. Altuve had knee surgery to repair a kneecap fracture, which affected him tremendously during the season. Lance McCullers is out for the year with a UCL injury.

Bregman expects to be back to full baseball activities by the beginning of March when the Grapefruit League kicks off. At the very worst, this surgery and recovery helps the Astros increase their on-field versatility which the team has come to prize in recent years. Subsequently, this will only strengthen this Houston Astros team in the event of any injuries or struggles down the road.

I would like to wish Alex a speedy recovery and I look forward to seeing him back on the field and playing his heart out while amusing us with his dugout stares. Go Astros!