Yordan Alvarez has been on the Astros’ 10-day injured record since Could 3 as a result of irritation in his proper hand, and the slugger was regarded as nearing a return to the lineup as early as at this time. Nonetheless, Alvarez has now been shut down from swinging as a result of what GM Dana Brown described as a “very small fracture” within the ring finger of Alvarez’s hand.
The fracture was found after a stay batting follow session on Friday, as Alvarez left the session feeling some discomfort in his hand. Imaging discovered a fracture that’s already about 60 % healed, Brown mentioned, and surgical procedure received’t be required.
Although the GM mentioned Alvarez may nonetheless be again in “the close to future” and can proceed different baseball actions moreover hitting, this extra critical damage raises new questions on precisely how lengthy one of many league’s high hitters will likely be sidelined. Hand issues have lengthy been a problem for Alvarez, although his previous hand-related accidents have additionally been simply associated to irritation and soreness, moderately than structural issues.
Alvarez had but to get going (a .210/.306/.340 slash line in 121 plate appearances) on the time of his IL placement, however the three-time All-Star has historically been a little bit of a sluggish starter. It speaks to Alvarez’s excessive requirements {that a} profession .265/.350/.488 slash line in March and April counts as his weakest efficiency in any month of the common season, although clearly his numbers this yr have been properly under his previous March/April manufacturing.
Houston’s lineup has nonetheless managed to publish roughly middle-of-the-pack numbers even with Alvarez both struggling or absent, to not point out an absence of manufacturing from such regulars as Christian Walker and Brendan Rodgers. Regardless of additionally coping with a number of pitchers on the IL, the Astros are nonetheless in first place within the AL West, so one other journey to the playoffs (or one other deep run) actually appears believable if Houston can get everybody wholesome and on monitor. An in-form Alvarez would naturally be a serious piece of that puzzle, however his IL stint will now stretch into June.
As famous by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, Alvarez’s state of affairs shares some similarities with Kyle Tucker’s damage absence from final season. Preliminary testing of what appeared to be a bone bruise in Tucker’s shin missed a small fracture, and Tucker ended up lacking over three months of the common season. As with Tucker, Brown mentioned that the quantity of irritation resulted in Alvarez’s fracture being neglected by the primary photographs, although an MRI did appropriately diagnose a muscle pressure.
“I believe you don’t see the calcium buildup till like 5 weeks or so and that’s a part of the issue,” Brown mentioned. “After which once you do these imagings and you’ve got a lot fluid and irritation, it’s very, very tough to diagnose these. And that is for the professionals that do it, it’s very tough. And even with a number of opinions, it’s very tough to see.”
