HOUSTON -- Just as shortstop Jeremy Peña and center fielder Jake Meyers are set to return from the injured list, perhaps as soon as Monday, the Astros are losing second baseman Jose Altuve to a Grade 2 left oblique strain, manager Joe Espada said following Sunday’s 8-0 loss to the Rangers at Daikin Park.
Altuve left Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Rangers in the eighth inning after hitting into a double play in which he was in so much pain he was unable to run out of the batter’s box. He underwent an MRI on Sunday morning. The Astros have yet to place Altuve on the injured list and there’s no word on how long he might be out of action.
“Not what we wanted to hear,” Espada said. “Some of these young players will continue to get opportunities. We should be getting Jeremy back and we’ll get that boost back in our offense and the defensive side. We’ve just got to turn the page and get ready for Minnesota.”
Altuve was slashing .245/.326/.380 with four homers and 12 RBIs in 42 games this year. He led off Saturday’s game with his 42nd career leadoff homer, which is second in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Craig Biggio’s 53.
Losing Altuve is the latest in the a season full of impact injuries for the Astros, who currently have their starting shortstop (Peña), center fielder (Meyers), starting left fielder (Joey Loperfido), starting third baseman (Carlos Correa) and catcher (Yainer Diaz) on the IL, along with starting pitchers Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier and closer Josh Hader.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” first baseman Christian Walker said Saturday. “I see these guys prepare the right way every day. I see the guys taking care of their body. Altuve is dialed in. He eats the right stuff, he sleeps, you know, he lives right. For something like that, it’s truly just a part of the game.
“It’s frustrating, it’s annoying, but it’s starting to get into the ‘Win anyway’ category. You want everybody on the field, you want our team to be full strength, but if we can’t, we’ve got to find a way to win, and that’s kind of where the mindset is lately.”
Peña (hamstring strain) completed his Minor League rehab at Double-A Corpus Christi and joined the Astros at Daikin Park following Sunday’s game for the trip to Minneapolis, where the Astros (19-29) open a three-game series on Monday at Target Field. Meyers was in the lineup for Corpus Christi on Sunday for his final rehab game.
When Peña and Meyers return, prospect Brice Matthews could get more time at second base and Braden Shewmake could also play some second base, along with Nick Allen. Shewmake has started nine of 12 games at shortstop since Correa injured his ankle May 5. Matthews has started 18 games in center, nine in left and four at second base.
Meyers suffered a Grade 2 left oblique strain swinging the bat April 9 and will have missed more than five weeks upon his return to the Houston lineup. Altuve missed three weeks in August 2023 with left oblique “discomfort.”
The Astros will have several roster moves to make Monday, with Altuve heading to the IL and Peña and possibly Meyers returning. Astros general manager Dana Brown said on the team’s pregame radio show on KBME-790 in Houston on Sunday that Peña would play two of three games in Minneapolis.
What’s more, right-hander Nate Pearson -- one of seven pitchers the Astros acquired in the offseason -- is also expected to join the club in Minnesota and pitch in relief. Pearson, who can top 101 mph, was scheduled to make his final rehab outing Sunday for Triple-A Sugar Land. He had been recovering from offseason elbow surgery.
“We could use some power on the back end,” Brown told 790.