Correa out for season as Astros shut down attempted comeback from ankle injury

HOUSTON -- Carlos Correa pushed his rehabilitation from major ankle surgery as far as he could before realizing Tuesday that the best thing for his health was to end his comeback bid for this season.

Correa won’t return to the Astros in the season’s final days, manager Joe Espada said, after the star third baseman experienced soreness while rehabbing in Florida. Instead of pushing it further, Correa will continue his rehab and focus on coming back fully healthy next year.

“We’re at a point where we have to be really smart about this,” Espada said. “It’s getting to a point where he wakes up in the morning and just to get him going, it’s tough. We have to be cautious with this guy.”

Correa had been working out at the team’s Spring Training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., for about 10 days, hoping to begin a Minor League rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land later this week. But Espada said the more Correa was on the bases in his spikes, the more soreness he felt.

“I give him a ton of credit,” Espada said. “He worked his tail off trying to get back this season, and we all knew that there’s a chance for this to flare up on him again. But respect that he tried and did everything he could. But we’ve got to be smart about this and make sure he’s healthy for next season, and that’s the course we’re going to take.”

Correa had peroneus brevis tendon repair surgery on his left ankle on May 11 and was expected to miss the remainder of the season. He progressed so well in his recovery that he began to think about returning when he was cleared to swing the bat in early August, especially with the Astros taking over first place in the American League West on July 31.

“I wouldn’t be doing all this work if I didn’t think there was a chance,” Correa said Aug. 1.

Correa began running shortly after that and was making enough progress that the team was planning how to fit him into the lineup when he came back. Correa even took grounders at second base, a position he’s never played before.

“The most disappointing part is how much work he put in to try to get back,” Espada said. “You see a light at the end of the road, and the fact that we couldn’t get past the hours of work, the strain it caused to his ankle during his workouts, it’s sad. But at the same time, Carlos, just the fact he got this close, tells you how much he cares about this team and the organization.”

Correa, who will turn 32 on Sept. 22, was slashing .279/.369/.418 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 32 games before getting injured while swinging in the batting cages. He slashed .290/.355/.430 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 51 games for the Astros in 2025 after the Trade Deadline move back to Houston.