The stands at T-Mobile Park in Seattle may not yet be filled to capacity, but there will still be plenty of room for the cheering section devoted solely to infielder Taylor Jones, one of several players the Astros recently beckoned from the alternate site.

Jones grew up a Mariners fan in Kent, Wash., a 30-minute drive from the ballpark. In that respect, the timing couldn’t have been better. Jones’ parents, wife and several other family and friends were planning to attend Friday’s Astros-Mariners opener.

During a pregame conversation with reporters, Jones paid homage to the two people most responsible for cultivating his love for baseball -- his late grandfather, Bob Peckinino, and his grandmother, Jackie Peckinino. Among Jones’ first baseball memories is wearing the Seattle Mariners outfit his grandparents gave him when he was a toddler.

Jones became emotional while reflecting about his grandfather and took a few moments to compose himself while speaking about him.

“That’s tough,” Jones said. “I always feel like he’s with me. He’s a big supporter throughout my career. I know he’s going to be out there watching.”

IL players not likely to return this trip

The Astros do not know when the five players who were placed on the injured list due to health and safety protocols will be able to return, but manager Dusty Baker on Friday said they may not be back during the current road trip.

“It is leaning that way,” Baker said.

The Astros began a two-city, five-game road trip to Seattle and Denver on Friday at T-Mobile Park. They’ll play three in Seattle and two in Denver, with an off-day scheduled for Monday.

Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Robel Garcia and Martin Maldonado were placed on the IL on Wednesday and can return once they are cleared. There is no minimum stay for players who are placed on the COVID-19 IL.

But the protocol for a player who tests positive is a 10-day isolation period, and for close contacts it’s a seven-day mandatory quarantine. Negative tests are encouraging, but they cannot adjust these mandatory periods.

“The guys that are testing negative, we still have a protocol where we have set out ‘x’ amount of days, whether you test negative or not.

“All the guys that are out had the [vaccine] shot. There's only a few guys that have had both shots. It's a situation where it doesn't look like [a return is] any time [soon], at least not this weekend.”

Tucker’s day off

Baker told Kyle Tucker ahead of time that he would not be starting the opener in Seattle, opting instead to give the struggling outfielder a day to clear his head.

Tucker’s overall results have been good -- he’s hit safely in nine of the club’s 12 games and is leading all Astros players with 11 RBIs. And, he’s still hitting the ball hard -- in fact, his 21 hard-hit batted balls (95+ exit velocity) entering Friday’s play is among tops in the baseball. Only seven players have had more.

But Tucker struggled in the final two games of the Tigers series, logging one hit in nine at-bats and going 0-for-5 in the finale. Baker has noticed frustration from Tucker after these recent at-bats.

“He’s been struggling some,” Baker said. “I can see his frustration mounting and I told him, ‘Hey man, it’s a good work day. Get in the cage and work,’ and he’ll be back there tomorrow, or later in the game [Friday].

“I could just see the frustration, you throw your helmet and go slam your bat or whatever it is. We’ve all been there, so I just wanted to relieve his frustration.”

Tucker acknowledged as much.

“Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “I was getting a lot of pitches I should have hit and put in play. I'd either swing through, foul them off or just roll them over to first base. It gets a little frustrating doing the same thing. It’s a day off and I’ll just back at it tomorrow.”