HOUSTON — Yordan Alvarez sprained his right knee and will be unavailable for the remainder of the Houston Astros’ critical three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, manager Joe Espada revealed Monday.
Alvarez underwent an MRI on Monday afternoon before Houston’s 6-1 loss to Seattle. An X-ray taken Sunday afternoon revealed “inflammation,” Espada said, and the team sent him for additional testing as part of its medical plan.
Espada seemed optimistic Alvarez could return at some point during the Astros’ final regular-season series against the Cleveland Guardians but stopped short of confirming it outright. Houston has an off day Thursday before starting its series in Cleveland on Friday.
Yordan Alvarez is shaken up and receiving attention from a trainer after sliding into second base stretching a single into a double.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) September 22, 2024
“We have to give this some time here and see how he feels the next couple of days,” Espada said. “If there’s a chance for him to come back in the regular season, it’s good news. I hoped it would’ve been just one game, but that’s not the case.”
Alvarez was unavailable to reporters Sunday and Monday. His absence will wither an already top-heavy lineup that struggled against Seattle’s stout pitching staff Monday. Houston managed three singles and a solo home run from Jason Heyward in its five-run loss, one that kept its magic number at two to clinch the American League West.
Presuming the Astros secure their fourth consecutive division title — and can’t author a miracle run to secure a first-round bye — concern about whether Alvarez will be at full strength for a wild-card series is obvious. Game 1 is scheduled for Oct. 1, two days after the Astros’ regular season ends and nine days after Alvarez sustained the sprain.
Alvarez injured his knee while sliding into second base during Sunday’s 9-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees during the 2020 season but had no known issues with them before this sprain.
In all likelihood, the injury will prevent Houston from deploying Alvarez in left field at any point in October and could complicate Espada’s lineup construction. Pigeonholing Alvarez as the designated hitter will mean either Heyward or Mauricio Dubón will see increased duties in left field while eliminating a potential spot to use backup catcher Victor Caratini, he of a 113 wRC+ this season.
If Houston is facing a left-handed starter, Espada could start the switch-hitting Caratini at first base over the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton. Caratini started at first base Monday with Singelton serving as the designated hitter, perhaps a sign that the Astros view Caratini as a superior defender to Singleton.
Alvarez leads all of the Astros’ qualified hitters with a .308 batting average, a .959 OPS and 35 home runs — two shy of his career high. The 147 games he has played are a career high, too, part of what had been the healthiest season of his major-league career.
Then an injury arrived at the absolute worst time.
(Photo of Yordan Alvarez, right, being tended to after hurting his knee Sunday: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
