HOUSTON -- Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña did not play his scheduled Minor League rehab game Wednesday afternoon for Double-A Corpus Christi while nursing a sore neck, which he sustained in a nasty collision Tuesday night with the Hooks.
Peña, on the injured list for the last month with a hamstring strain, made his first rehab start Tuesday against Amarillo, leading off and playing shortstop. He went 1-for-2 and was removed from the game as a precaution after being hit on the right forearm by a pitch in the sixth inning. That came after Peña was involved in a nasty collision with a baserunner earlier in the inning and was upended and landed on his back.
Peña was scheduled to be the Hooks’ designated hitter Wednesday, but was instead limited to some pregame work.
“I talked to him earlier today and the neck is still sore,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Hopefully we can get him in there tomorrow.”
Astros starting center fielder Jake Meyers (right oblique) went 0-for-4 Tuesday in his first rehab game at Corpus Christi and was out of the lineup Wednesday, which was scheduled. All-Star closer Josh Hader (biceps tendinitis) pitched an inning (16 pitches) on Tuesday, allowing one hit and recording one strikeout. Peña and Meyers could return next week; Hader can’t be activated until May 24.
Peña has played in only 10 big league games this season, hitting .256/.304/.349 with no home runs or RBIs. He fractured the tip of his right ring finger in an exhibition game in March while playing for the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic team. He didn’t start the season on the injured list, but was not in the lineup daily to begin the season.
Peña, who took over at shortstop for Carlos Correa in 2022 and won World Series MVP that fall, is coming off his best season. He made his first All-Star team in '25 and was named the club’s Most Valuable Player for the first time after slashing .304/.363/.477 with 17 homers, 62 RBIs and 20 steals in 125 games, mostly as Houston’s leadoff hitter.
Peña missed last July -- and the All-Star Game -- with a fractured rib and didn’t play in the final week of the 2025 regular season because of a strained left oblique. The injuries helped derail the Astros’ run of eight consecutive trips to the postseason, with Houston missing the playoffs via a tiebreaker with the Tigers for the final AL Wild Card spot.