The Houston Astros are slowly starting to get healthy, which couldn’t happen at a better time, as they are in a tough battle with the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West.
Heading into Sunday’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles, the Astros are 1.5 games up on Seattle for the top spot in the AL West. This past week, Houston got a huge reinforcement in the starting rotation as Cristian Javier made his 2025 debut after being on the 60-day injured list.
Now, the Astros did lose closer Josh Hader to the 15-day IL with a shoulder injury, which is less than ideal. But with Luis Garcia getting closer to returning and Lance McCullers getting sent on a rehab stint in Triple-A, things are improving for Houston.
Along those same lines, the Astros could be on the verge of getting back star slugger Yordan Alvarez in the coming weeks, which would be huge as he’s sorely been missed.
Yordan Alvarez will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Joe Espada said.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 17, 2025
Yordan Alvarez Set to Begin Rehab Assignment on Tuesday
According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game that Alvarez will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Espada also added that the star slugger will be the designated hitter.
Before going on the assignment, the All-Star power hitter reportedly took a few at-bats in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday for a live batting practice, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. And then he took a flight from the Sunshine State to Houston for more evaluations.
The 28-year-old power hitter has only appeared in 29 games this season thanks to right-hand inflammation. Alvarez was initially placed on the 10-day injured list in early May, but was then transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 2.
In the games he played, it was clear that Alvarez wasn’t the same player we saw over the last few years in Houston.
The left-handed slugger was slashing .210/.306/.340 with three home runs and 18 RBI. He also had a career-worst OPS of .646. When healthy, we know that Alvarez is one of the most feared hitters in the game, as he can change things with one swing of the bat.
If all goes well with his rehab assignment this coming week, the hope is that Alvarez could return next weekend on the road against the O’s, per Astros general manager Dana Brown. Thus far, Houston has been able to hold down the fort, despite missing a lot of their key players.
A late-season addition of Alvarez could give them that much-needed boost to help them win the AL West and push for a top-two seed in the American League.