Friday marked the first day Yordan Alvarez was eligible to be activated off the Astros’ 10-day injured list, but manager Joe Espada instead closed the door on Alvarez’s participation in the team’s final series. Espada told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters that Alvarez will remain on the IL for the remainder of the regular season, though it is still possible Alvarez could return for the playoffs if Houston makes the bracket.
Should the Astros sneak into the postseason, the first game of their Wild Card Series is set for Tuesday. That would seemingly still allow little time for Alvarez to be game-ready, as he hadn’t yet started any hitting or running drills as of late Wednesday. Espada indicated that Alvarez was showing improvement since Wednesday but “as much as he’s [progressed] the last two or three days, I just don’t think that it would be the best for him to be able to come here and play. We’re just not there.”
Alvarez suffered a left ankle sprain on September 15 while scoring a run in the Astros’ 6-3 win over the Rangers. There was immediate concern that the injury could be season-ending, though Alvarez raised some hope last weekend about the potential of returning for this closing series with the Angels. Given the import of these final two games, it is safe to assume that Alvarez would be playing if he was at all physically able, as his absence creates yet another problem for the struggling Astros.
A 1-6 record in their last seven games has pushed Houston under the playoff line, as the Astros are a game behind the Tigers for the final AL wild card slot. Houston loses tiebreakers to both Detroit and Cleveland, so the Astros will need to win both of their remaining two games and hope that at least one of the Tigers or Guardians lose both their remaining games in order for Houston to reach the playoffs.
Between this ankle sprain and a hand injury that was eventually revealed as a finger fracture, Alvarez played in only 48 games this season. After missing the better part of four months on the IL, Alvarez hit well after returning to action in late August, and brought his season numbers up to .273/.367/.430 and six homers over 199 plate appearances. This 118 wRC+ is respectable, yet a far cry from the spectacular 166 wRC+ Alvarez posted across his first six Major League seasons.
Alvarez’s injury was one of many notable absences faced by the Astros this year, and yet it wasn’t until this past week that the club finally seemed to wilt from such an overloaded IL. To add another setback, Jake Meyers was a late scratch from Friday’s game due to right calf soreness, costing Houston another regular in a 4-3 loss to the Angels.