After more than three and a half months on the injured list, Yordan Alvarez looks to be approaching a return. Astros manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters that Alvarez is slated to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday. GM Dana Brown gave a few more details during a pregame radio interview, saying that the plan is for Alvarez to play Tuesday and then again on Thursday and Friday after a rest and examination day on Wednesday.
August 26 is the most probable day for Alvarez’s activation from the IL, when the Astros begin a home series against the Rockies. Brown suggested that if Alvarez is feeling good after his initial three Double-A games, the slugger could be activated on Saturday when the Astros are in Baltimore, but naturally the team will proceed with caution given how Alvarez’s recovery process has already been filled with stops and starts.
Hand problems have bothered Alvarez in the past, so there was some trepidation that his initial IL placement due to hand inflammation in early May might go well beyond the minimum 10 days. While Alvarez had advanced to taking live batting practice by the end the month, the situation took another turn when he felt some more soreness in his right hand, and a follow-up MRI revealed a slight fracture in his right ring finger. More soreness in early July necessitated a move to the 60-day IL, and Kawahara writes that Alvarez also received two injections to deal with the inflammation.
Alvarez was able to restart his hitting progression and Espada said the three-time All-Star faced live pitching yesterday at the Astros’ Spring Training complex. This was enough for the club to finally greenlight a proper rehab assignment.
2025 has been something of a lost year entirely for Alvarez, as he was hitting only .210/.306/.340 over his first 121 plate appearances before heading to the IL. Alvarez has a history of relatively slow starts, so while these numbers were well below his career .838 OPS in March and April, there wasn’t much doubt that he’d eventually get on track with his usual level of elite slugging. The Astros can only hope that Alvarez is able to return without needing much time to round into form, as every game is critical in the playoff race.
Given how Houston has been without Alvarez for most of the season and has dealt with a wealth of other injuries to multiple key players, it is somewhat remarkable that the Astros are still 69-55 and in first place in the AL West. A once-sizable division lead has dwindled to just a single game, however, since the Mariners are surging and the Astros are only 14-20 in their last 34 games.