CLEVELAND — The most important man in the Houston Astros’ orbit did not accompany the team for its final regular-season series, sports a brace on his sprained right knee and, according to his manager, is “getting better quickly.”
Whether Yordan Alvarez will improve in time to make a meaningful impact in next week’s Wild Card Series remains the only relevant question during this relatively meaningless weekend of baseball at Progressive Field.
Cognizant they may see the Cleveland Guardians again next weekend in the American League Division Series, the Astros will predetermine pitch counts for their impact relievers, monitor the rainy Ohio sky to determine how long their position players appear, and perhaps witness Justin Verlander’s final appearance in their uniform Saturday evening.
Alvarez’s amorphous status will shroud all of it. The secondhand information Espada shares from the team’s medical staff in Houston will be the most scrutinized words spoken all weekend.
It started Friday when the skipper revealed Alvarez is “getting better quickly” while rehabbing with team physicians and trainers in Houston. Espada said he received videos of Alvarez working in the weight room and on a treadmill, though he did not reveal whether Alvarez can run.
The severity of Alvarez’s knee sprain is unclear, so sketching a specific timetable for his return is impossible. Expecting anyone affiliated with the Astros to provide one is foolish, though Espada may have done the closest thing Friday afternoon.
“He’s got to do some kind of baseball activity, right? He’s got to hit. He’s got to do something,” Espada said. “He can’t just go from what he’s doing now onto the baseball field.”
“He’s a really, really good player, but we need him to check some boxes.”
If Alvarez’s status is contingent on his participation in baseball activities, the calendar is working against both him and the Astros. Houston must submit its 26-man wild-card roster by Tuesday morning, meaning Alvarez has three full days to make substantial progress.
If he can’t, Alvarez’s absence will create a void the Astros aren’t equipped to fill. None of the other 11 October-bound offenses are, either. Only four qualified hitters entered Friday with a higher wRC+ and slugging percentage than Alvarez. He leads the Astros in home runs, extra-base hits and batting average.
This baseball will not be coming back 😳
Yordan Alvarez’s 34th homer of the season was a laser pic.twitter.com/SHXKkSS06K
— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2024
Alvarez’s mere presence provokes fear inside any opposing dugout. Might the Astros acknowledge that and carry Alvarez anyway, putting the possibility in another manager’s head that he is available in some capacity?
Employees of both the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers do have internet access and will understand Alvarez is compromised, but if he is part of Houston’s roster, neither A.J. Hinch nor Matt Quatraro will fully believe he is unavailable.
Their pitching strategies and bullpen management could change as a result, maneuvers that are magnified in a three-game series. The Astros must ask themselves whether that has more value than deploying a roster of all able-bodied players.
If Houston believes it does not, its roster construction becomes far more fascinating. The team already has a left-handed bench of Jason Heyward and Jon Singleton along with switch-hitting backup catcher Victor Caratini. If the team decides to carry a third catcher, César Salazar hits left-handed, too.
Should Chas McCormick progress from his hand fracture and be able to contribute during the Wild Card Series, he would supply another right-handed bat. McCormick started taking on-field batting practice this week and is scheduled to face live pitching on both Sunday and Monday, Espada said.
Summoning slugger Zach Dezenzo from Triple-A Sugar Land before Friday’s game gave another right-handed option.
Dezenzo arrived at the expense of Shay Whitcomb, a fellow infielder with more minor-league experience but a lower offensive ceiling. The organization considers Dezenzo among its best position player prospects, perhaps an internal candidate to play third base next season if it does not re-sign Alex Bregman.
Dezenzo slashed .212/.255/.308 during his first 17-game stint in the major leagues earlier this season. Upon his return to Triple-A, Dezenzo made some adjustments to his base and hands that led to a shorter swing that Espada described as “more direct to the ball.”
Dezenzo arrived in the Astros’ clubhouse on Friday with an .802 OPS across his past 69 Triple-A plate appearances. He served as Houston’s designated hitter on Friday and Espada promised to “get him some at-bats” throughout the subsequent two days.
Whatever Dezenzo does with them will be rendered a footnote to Alvarez’s progress in Houston.
(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
