Alex Bregman hasn’t played in a big league game since June 16, and it remains unclear as to when the Astros third baseman will return from the left quad strain that has waylaid his season. In an interview today with radio host Robert Ford (hat tip to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle), Astros GM James Click indicated that Bregman wouldn’t be returning to his minor league rehab assignment in the near future.
“We determined that the best course of action was to do a lot of work that didn’t involve playing in games,” Click said. “Right now we’re making sure he’s good to go at full speed with his legs fully underneath him. Once we feel like that’s been accomplished we’ll move onto hitting.”
It seemed like Bregman was on the verge of a return just one week ago, as he left his Triple-A rehab assignment to rejoin the Astros in Houston. However, rather than reinstatement from the 60-day injured list, Bregman has continued to sit out as all parties weigh his next course of action. Bregman has continued to work out with the Triple-A Sugar Land Skeeters, posting this video today (via his Twitter feed) of a running drill.
As per the rules of injured list placements, minor league rehab assignments must be completed in less than 20 days or else the player must sit out five days before restarting the assignment. That five-day window has since elapsed and Bregman has yet to resume playing for the Skeeters.
With this much uncertainty surrounding even Bregman’s minor league work, it is anyone’s guess as to when he might finally get back on the field with the Astros. Click didn’t hint at a projection, saying “unfortunately a lot of it is let’s test today, test tomorrow, test the next day and see how everything responds. And we don’t see a timeframe until we see how his body responds to the tests over the next couple days.”
The Astros have remained in first place in the AL West even without Bregman for all but 59 games of the season, as he also missed time on the COVID-19 list in April. Since returning from his own IL stint, Aledmys Diaz has been on a tear at the plate and has assumed most of the everyday third base duties. That said, Houston is absolutely a better team with Bregman back in the mix, and the Astros may need all the help they can get to hold off the streaking Athletics for the division lead.
Kyle Tucker also won’t be available for at least a week, as manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters. Tucker was placed on the injured list yesterday for undisclosed health/safety protocol reasons, which would seem to imply some connection to COVID-19.
I didn’t realize how much Bregman’s home run numbers have fallen the last couple years.
The fallout of 2017 and the scandal…
Huh? His 2 best years he hit 31 and 41 in 2018 and 2019.
peak homers were in 2019 and he fell off because of injury this and last year. the only thing I know off the top of my head that he’s regressed from in 2017 was sprint speed, and that has nothing to do with the cheating scandal
Don’t let logic and facts get in the way guys.
I think pwndroia was referring more to the mental side. He struck me as someone who was really trying to prove the cheating allegations and their effects as wrong. Plus, there’s always a possibility of additional cheating in ‘18 and ‘19, so I wouldn’t necessarily use those years to indicate that cheating didn’t assist.
He’s a good player, but he might just be in his own head a little bit. Add that to the injuries this year, and who knows when he bounces back fully.
Oh yea, there was a 60 game season and had some leg problems over the last couple years
The Astros will be fine as long as Diaz stays healthy in Bregman’s stead. It’s pretty amazing how many injuries this team has had and just keeps on plugging along
Probably will not see Bregman until end of regular season. They want him playoff ready more than anything. They have Diaz who is great at third. Had to utilize him then he got hurt but when Diaz was back Bregman they could just shut down. If he is back for playoffs or Spring training.
Snitch. Get Stitched.
He was supposed to start a rehab assignment like 5 or 6 weeks ago. If he still can’t get it going his season may be over.
Something something blobbity garbage can blobbity something. Tee hee.
BMI = 26.
And so it goes.
Please expand/expound on these BMI references I’ve seen you mention a few times.
Yes that bmi is annoying. Like the guy that has to sign every commeny grubb. Annoying
journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2017/07000/Bod…
This is basically a summary of many studies, some of which suggest relationships. It’s my opinion that today’s ball players have bulked up and are therefore more prone to injury. It’s not definitive yet but I believe it’s part of the problem.
But this post was more making fun of people who post on every Astros article.
It’s chicken or egg… does putting on muscle enable more intense play, thus pushing one’s body to the point of injury? Or, does putting on the extra muscle cause the injury?
Alternative… does putting on the extra muscle prolong players’ careers who would otherwise have been injured earlier in their career?
Who knows? We won’t ever be able to discern that. Genetics play a part – look at Nolan Ryan for a freak example.
I think football found that overly muscular bodies tended to have more knee injuries but that’s a different sport with different movements. I think the problem is essentially that you can change components of your body but not all of them. As an example, if you overload on muscles, you will stress the ligaments more. Also, your heart and lungs can only develop so much and as you put more weight on, you are asking more from those organs. Could be a breaking point, not enough oxygen to the muscle leads to problems. Finally, climate change is impactful. Rising temperatures stress the body more in athletic endeavors.