Over the weekend, the Houston Astros saw veteran second baseman Jose Altuve leave in the third inning of Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Braves with right foot discomfort. It was the last thing you wanted to see as an Astros fan, given the number of injuries that have piled up to start this month.
However, we found out on Sunday that Altuve will only miss a couple of days, which is important as the Astros will play the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners this week.
On Sunday, we also received an update from Astros GM Dana Brown on Isaac Paredes, who has been sidelined with a right hamstring strain since last month. According to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, Brown said that there’s hope Paredes could return next week for the Mariners series. But the Astros general manager added that it “may be a long shot” and “there’s nothing etched in stone,” but “we’d be excited to get him back at that point.”
Astros Provide Optimistic Isaac Paredes Injury Update
If you’re an Astros fan, you hope Paredes can return to the diamond as he was hitting the ball well before getting hurt on July 20.
In 14 games during July, the veteran third baseman was slugging .286 with five doubles, two home runs, and four RBI. He also had an .847 OPS. For the season, the All-Star infielder is hitting .259 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI.
When the Astros lost Paredes, the fear was that he could be out for most of the season, hence why Houston traded for Carlos Correa. Correa has played well in his return to Houston, hitting .288 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 40 games.
If Paredes does return by the Mariners series, it would be unlikely that he would unseat Correa at third base. That said, Paredes would give Houston another option off the bench and just more firepower for the final stretch.
According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Astros manager Joe Espada said on Saturday that Paredes took live batting practice in Florida, running the bases, and “doing all the defensive work.”
Astros fans will be crossing their fingers that Brown and Espada’s optimism pans out, as the team has a fight on its hands to win the AL West, let alone make the playoffs.