March 22: Brown today informed reporters, including Rome, that Altuve’s surgery has now taken place. The estimated timeline is two months before Altuve can resume baseball activities.
March 19: Astros general manager Dana Brown informed reporters, including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, that second baseman Jose Altuve has a fractured right thumb and will undergo surgery in the “coming days.” There is no timetable for his return. Altuve left last night’s game in the World Baseball Classic after being hit on the hand by a pitch. Marly Rivera of ESPN had previously relayed that Altuve had indeed suffered a fracture, as feared.
The news obviously comes as a big blow to the defending World Series champions, as Altuve has been a cornerstone of the team for years. Not only has he been reliable in his excellent performance, but he’s also never really dealt with a significant injury until now. Over the past ten full seasons, going back to 2012, Altuve has never played fewer than 124 games in an individual campaign. That low tally came in 2019, when a hamstring strain sent him to the injured list for just over a month. Apart from that, all his trips to the IL have been fairly minor, meaning he is now likely facing the most lengthy absence of his career. Though the club hasn’t provided a timetable for Altuve’s return, there’s no doubt that he’s facing a significant absence. Bryce Harper suffered a thumb fracture last year and ended up missing two months of the season. Every injury and recovery is different, but it would be reasonable to expect a similar path ahead for the Astros second baseman.
Altuve, 33 in May, has been one of the better players in the league in that time but is coming off one of his best seasons to date. He hit 28 home runs, stole 18 bases and walked in a career-high 10.9% of his trips to the plate. His .300/.387/.533 batting line resulted in a 164 wRC+, a career-high figure that indicated he was 64% better than the league average hitter. Defensive metrics were split on the value of his glovework, but he was still ranked as being worth 6.6 wins above replacement by FanGraphs, his highest tally in that department since the infamous sign-stealing season of 2017.
The exact date of his return will depend upon how long it takes to heal and then how much time he needs to get back into game shape after his layoff, but it seems like it will be a decent chunk of the schedule either way. While Altuve figures to be back for the latter months of the season, the club will have to figure out how to man the keystone for the time being. Mauricio Dubón, David Hensley and Rylan Bannon are the options on the 40-man roster, while Dixon Machado is in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Dubón is the most experienced of the bunch, having played in 262 games at the big league level. He’s capable of playing each outfield position and the three infield spots to the left of first base, and is generally considered to be a good defender anywhere he’s placed. The problem is on offense, as he’s hit just .244/.287/.366 in his career for a wRC+ of 77. It’s a fairly similar story for Machado, who is considered solid with the glove at shortstop, second or third base, but has hit just .226/.285/.292 in the majors for a wRC+ of 56. He’s not currently on the 40-man and won’t be optionable if he’s selected at some point. Hensley had a great debut last year, but in a tiny sample of just 16 games. He was also good in Triple-A, however, hitting .298/.420/.478 over 104 games last year. Bannon has just five MLB games under his belt but has bounced around the waiver wire in the past year due to strong work in the minors.
That group gives the Astros plenty of options but none of them will be expected to replace the production of Altuve. It’s also possible that the club could look outside the organization for some help, but there are challenges to doing that at this time of year. The free agent market has been largely picked over, leaving veteran journeymen like Andrelton Simmons and Jonathan Villar as some of the best options available. Trades are also difficult to line up at this time of year, with most teams generally feeling settled with their rosters as Opening Day approaches. Perhaps the Yankees would be willing to deal Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Gleyber Torres with youngsters like Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza pushing for more playing time, but they might also prefer to hang onto those players just in case the younger guys struggle in their first extended tastes of major league action. As Spring Training winds down, teams will make their final cuts and a few more players will shake loose, though they might not be huge difference makers relative to the in-house options in Houston.
However the club decides to play things, they will no doubt be in a lesser position at second base for a while. They will surely still be in good shape overall, with a lineup of great hitters like Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, José Abreu and Yordan Alvarez. They have incredibly made it to the ALCS in each of the past six years, going to the World Series in four of those seasons and winning it twice. They seem poised to be strong yet again, but they will now be challenged by a couple of notable absences in the early going, as Lance McCullers Jr. will open the season on the injured list as well.
Ouch that hurts. Yes, the Astros will still be good but this pulls them back into the pack while he is out.
So they win the West by 14, not 16 games? Then have a more rested Altuve for the playoffs. Doesn’t hurt near as bad as many people hope it does.
According to WAR it’s more like 10 games not 14 but yes the astros are still the favorites…unless…
That’s not how WAR works.
He will be gone 2 months, so 12, not 16.
Touché sir
It says he won’t ‘resume’ baseball activities until after 2 months…so Houston is looking at 6/15 at the earliest but I’d put money on it will be at least July 1st or later
Same. I’d even say it’ll be after the ASB.
Wouldn’t sleep on the Rangers either. Seems like they finally wised up and started investing in starting pitching.
The Astros aren’t beating the Mariners by 14 games if no one got hurt all year. The Astros lineup is not deep by any means.
lol
Are you kidding? I don’t like the Stros but outside of Maldonado, the team rakes.
They were 8th in the league in runs scored last year. They were top heavy with studs in the first 5 of the lineup. Taking one out for significant time will hurt a lot. They are not deep at all in their lineup. Pitching they are very deep.
deeper than Seattle’s
Not 14 games deeper.
The division is MUCH MUCH better. People also forget until the Angels lost rendon, 2 pitchers and fletcher at the end of May, they were the highest run differential team MLB.
The West is going to be the best division in baseball, count it.
A thumb injury? What happened, did someone kick him in the a$$?
Either way, it’ll be MLB’s first broken thumb repair that has an implanted battery situationally generating a gentle humm when all is said and done….
The headline is incorrect. It’s the broken thumb that’s causing him to miss time, not the surgery. It’s not like he opted to have surgury on a healthy thumb. Now, that would have made the headline accurate!
C’mon man. C’mon.
Oh God, I’m so excited how quickly the pro WBC crowd changes their tune with Altuve out.
But let’s keep pretending the WBC is anywhere near as prestigious as the World Cup.
If he had broken his thumb in spring training would it really make a difference? Maybe if he had played in ST he would have broken his ankle sliding into 2nd base. We’ll never know.
You’re right Dot….they haven’t stop exhibition games since Lux got hurt. I’m pretty sure the NBA still does pregame layup lines after Durant turned his ankle.
Watching the bench swarm the plate on Turner’s slam is the exact reason this thing should be played every other year, not every three years.
Exhibition games are for the players to prep and get their timing and stamina for the regular season. The WBC is a lot of nonsense.
The WBC is basically the same as ST. Both are pretend games. Both are preparing players to be ready for the regular season. Players get hurt in both settings.
That is absolutely correct. Gearing up to play this high intensity tournament, after only two weeks of spring training, puts the players ( especially pitchers), at a much greater risk for injury than spring training does. I believe after this year, the owners will be smarter in the future, with their top level stars.
No, the intensity level of this exhibition tournament, is miles ahead of the slow and easy spring training pace.
Pitchers still throw in the 90’s and hit batters in ST games. Can fracture a finger in a spring training game just the same. Diaz was jumping up and down a whole 2 or three inches a few times. If that is all it took to tear his patellar tendon, could had done the same thing sprinting to 1b to cover as pitchers do in ST. If you really believe playing for something really makes a difference would you feel any better if a player gets hit in the hand on opening day and misses actually more time in the regular season because he would be about 3 weeks later than had he broke the hand in the WBC or in a ST game?
Players don’t celebrate when they win pretend games.
Exactly how many pitchers have been injured in the WBC? Diaz and who else?
The Mets do.
Players care if they win in the WBC, so its competitive. Managers also don’t belong to the organization the players play for.
So, the WBC is not like ST. There are positive and negative ramifications due to the above two facts.
Actually Venezuela’s manager also coaches for the Astros and he had Altuve batting.
The WBC also allows the players to prep and get their timing and stamina for the regular season…and the games matter. It’s not like Altuve was playing WBC games AND spring training games at the same time, increasing his chances for an injury. Injuries like Gavin Lux, Michael Conforto, Justin Turner, and Rhys Hoskins are as likely in spring training as they are in the WBC.
No, it doesn’t. There is absolutely zero evidence to support this assertion.
The Mets actually did practice celebrating winning the World Series during 2021 spring training.
Well, they do pregame lines…
By that logic we should just stop playing baseball because the World Series also isn’t as prestigious as the World Cup.
The difference is, the wbc is limited in the numbers of countries that play baseball. The world cup gives every team in the world a chance to be the best in the world.
A Country had to qualify to play in WBC.
A Country has to qualify to play in the World Cup.
Your comment confuses me!
Shouldn’t you actually wait until the crow changes their mind instead of being excited that they way?
You’re suffering from premature exciteulation.
Huh?
I remember when I tripped on acid.
If you remember… you tripped.
But not on acid.
Could happen in Spring Training
That’s the best call you’ve ever made, Angel!
That is certainly true. What is also true, is it is much more likely that these injuries will occur in the wbc, due to the high level of intensity in the tournament. Spring training brings along the veteran players at their own pace.
There have been less injuries per game in the WBC than in spring training this season. Sooooooooooo, WRONG.
I didn’t know that there was a push to make the WBC bigger and better than the World Cup. But you know more than I do! Bless your heart!!
Didn’t know you were the gate keeper of cups. Let people enjoy and don’t be the worst.
The Venn diagram intersection of “people commenting on a baseball website” and “people who don’t like watching passionate, fun, exciting baseball” is much larger than I realized
Lol yeah. Welcome to the internet.
Bad take. Sorry about Diaz and Altuve, but we’ve seen big injuries in Spring Training as well. Dodgers lost Lux. Red Sox lost Turner. Mets lost Nimmo. I can go on. People get hurt in sports. Fans often complain about players only caring about money. Then when players get hurt in the WBC fans say they shouldn’t play because their teams pay them too much. Injuries suck, but the WBC has been really fun.
Look the poor guy got injured. He could of gotten hit in a Spring Game. He could of gotten beaned. Like the guy said he could of broken his ankle or torn an ACL like Lux. Hell, He could of tripped over a kids toy at home and fallen down the stairs. We’ll never know. It’s unfortunate but part of life. The Astros will persevere. They’re that good.
*could have* or *could’ve*
The WBC is fantastic. Being able to watch a dozen All Star teams battle it out over the course of three weeks is fantastic. Seeing passionate fans living and dying with every pitch is breathtaking! Going back to disinterested sportscasters pitching pay per view packages and seeing impatient fans glued to cellphones is heartbreaking…
100% – and the fans in the stands make it that much better.
It drives me nuts to hear the complaints because how far out do you extrapolate it?
Players get hurt in the WBC: don’t have the WBC!
Players get hurt in spring training games: kill ST games?
Players get hurt in early April series before there’s any sort of playoff picture outlined: might as well get rid of those meaningless games too!
Players get hurt in September games when playoff teams are playing teams that are already eliminated: let’s just call those forfeits!
It sucks *whenever* a guy gets hurt and is out for a long time, I think we can all agree on that. Blaming it all on the WBC is just short-sighted nonsense.
*snore* thank goodness the WBC only happens every 4 years. I’d hate to hear this whining annually.
It does make a crucial difference if a player gets hurt during the WBC vs Spring Training. Getting hurt in the WBC is far more frustrating because it’s akin to engaging in frivolous extraneous nonessential physical activity (like surfing or doing back flips on your ATV) which is routinely prohibited in player contracts. The WBC injects an extra shake of the dice into the mix where risk & calamity may collide to end your season.
On the other hand, if a player gets hurt during ST at least it occurred in the line of duty, amongst his teammates, in front of his fans, and while playing for the employer he signed a contract with. As a fan I would feel used, abused, and jilted if the star player on my team had a season ending injury occur in the WBC. However if it occured during ST it would sting far less because it happened “in the line of duty”, doing what he was supposed to be doing, under the same parameters of risk that every player has to deal with.
The. Owners. Created. The. WBC.
In other words, the player’s employers created the WBC.
@web
What’s. With. All. The. Periods?
WBC is a waste of time. Good thing the USA is in the finals because, without baseball’s biggest TV market, the ratings would be dismal. What? You really think American households would be tuning in to a Cuba vs. Mexico championship game!
Would not surprise me at all, that when the next WBS comes around, MLB owners will either forbid their big stars from playing or maybe offer a cash incentive for them not to play.
If the USA wins it all, do you think there will be a parade or a White House visit? Doubtful because no one really cares. Heck, in two months no one will even remember who won.
The world ratings have already surpassed last year’s playoffs.
Surprising. A lot of those countries only have a ‘neighborhood’ TV. With rabbit ears.
How many usernames do you have?
I’ve watched at least parts of every game from the U.S. So your strategy to prevent future participation is to pay off every single major and minor league player? What makes you think major leaguers are solely motivated by money when the top pay for each is around $50k for winning it all?
The MLB owners created the WBC. It’s making them HUGE dollars and promoting their sport worldwide. The games in Miami drew more fans than the 1st 60 games by the Marlins last season. The Marlins have not drawn more fans in any game since game 6 of the 2003 WS.
The ratings in other countries have been through the roof. There have been games in Japan that drew a 40 point rating. Insanely high. Higher than any MLB playoff game. The ratings in the US for games between DR and PUR were higher than most playoff games.
Every single player will remember who won.
Get used to the WBC because it’s going to be around.
An annoying time to be Profar right now.
This could also be the difference of altuve reaching 3k hits. What a bummer.
I’m cool it.
If only he had some way of knowing what pitch was coming. Bummer.
Im sick of all the “cheater” comments. But that was a good one.
you shouldn’t be though. they literally ruined the integrity of the game and there was zero accountability for their actions.
So comments in MLBTR pages increases the “intergrity” in your mind. Calm down, relax.
no, but I’m a fan of baseball lol… like you, I’m expressing my opinion. thank you for your words of wisdom, I’m so calm and relaxed now, all because of you thank you so much pal
My real opinion is your a whining Yankee fan, and if it was your team that did it, you’d care less. Yankees have been flaunting the rules aka cheating for decades. Yankees were stealing signs years earlier (2015, 2016). No problem there though right?
Also, glad you were able to take advantage my advice.
I’m a guardians fan lol. no stake in it. just not a fan of cheating…
you’re 0-2. the weed actually helps me relax, it wasn’t you and just assuming in a Yankees fan. you’re looking silly
Id say the same thing if I were busted. But, there’s no such thing as a Nationals fan. No one is that pathetic.
BTW, Im not a Red Sox fan either. Thats Clarence Sale in the picture.
lol at this point you’re not even making sense. What exactly do the Nationals have to do with anything we were discussing?
Lol. They ruined the integrity of the game? This is the same game that had the PED era, the Black Sox scandal, spidertack, didn’t allow blacks to play for decades? Just want to make sure we are talking about the same league that has a rich history of cheating?
Yep bambi,
After the Astros used a somewhat rudimentary system to gain split second foreknowledge of certain upcoming pitches, the game is forever (infinity plus one) ruined. But there’s a problem with your theory. It doesn’t take in consideration the 1919 black sox scandal which had already ruined the sport infinity plus one times infinity plus two. Or the steroids scandal that ruined the sport infinity times infinity times zero plus infinity times infinity plus negative infinity plus infinity. And not to mention non-integration of the sport for most of its existence which has forever ruined the sport infinity plus three times one, bracket, six plus two minus three double bracket one plus zero double bracket minus zero point five plus infinity plus one bracket plus one.
The integrity of baseball? They’ve been cheating since they invented the game.
Stealing signs has been going on since the game began.It was just not done as scientifically as banging on a garbage can lids.
Didnt Ty Cobb used to sharpen his cleat to sharp points. and then slide (drop kick) into a base. Even in those times, I’ll bet that wasn’t legal, yet he’s in the Hall.
https://photos.com/featured/ty-cobb-sliding-into-catcher-pictorial-parade.html
I didn’t say those incidents didn’t ruin the integrity of the game also, did I? They just weren’t the topics being discussed. Would you like my opinion on those topics too?
“Black sox” werent the topic either. And thats where this conversation took a sharp right turn.
Now, when everyone shows how common cheating has been. Aka, the end of Western Civilization wasnt caused by just a few incidents that you can cleanly point to, you want to narrow down the conversation.
“So comments in MLBTR pages increases the “intergrity” ..”.
“My real opinion is your a…”.
If you’re going to criticize a typo, you should try harder to avoid errors yourself.
@ RSmith, while I agree with the overall point you are getting at here. In regards to Cobb, that is an overhyped myth. Most players at that time sharpened dull or rusty spikes regularly. Sports equipment was rudimentary compared to the last half century. The way he slid was also the way all players slid and how they were taught back then.
LOL. You should just stop. They’re destroying you. And nothing makes them laugh harder than a Yankees fan denying being a Yankees fan so he can increase his credibility.
The NYY are MLB cash Cow so they don’t get punished, what about the balls that help Judge reach 62 HR’s , their players probably don’t get checked for steroids either
Lol. The Indians lone title as the Indians was a result of cheating.
Then don’t cheat??
Its ‘cheat’, dont get caught. Or be good enough that the rules dont apply to you.
The saddest part of the cheating Astros is that they were good enough then like they are now, that they didn’t have to cheat but did it anyway and got caught. That’s what irks me the most. It would make sense for the lesser teams to cheat because there is no way they can compete on even ground. The Astros are one of the exceptions. Very sad.
Your opinion is what makes cheating okay. Shame on you and if it happened to you rather than by you, you would be thinking otherwise. But right now you’re just a meatball who loves to ruffle feathers
And if it was your favorite team that got caught doing something that other teams were doing, didn’t show any negligible benefit (played better on the road than at home in 2017), and have had numerous players (Sale, Votto, Souza, Jr., Bassitt, Giolito, etal) acknowledge this was an ongoing issue in MLB among many teams, you would defend your team as well. That’s how fandom works in sports. If you say otherwise, you’re a liar.
Insecticide was sprayed here and this stinking vermin came out of its burrow.
Karma is a b&tch.
2017 was 6 years ago, get over it.
The black sox scandal was 100 years ago. So what.
He won the 2022 world series. What karma? Lol.
Goastros123.
Now that’s a better answer than it was 6 years ago. I don’t come on boards to participate in smack talk, but it doesn’t matter how long ago it was.
I’ll leave it at that.
Are you still talking about how the “black sox scandal” wronged people? Wow.
No. I mentioned that people still talk about the Black Sox, and people will always talk about the Black Sox.
Was that too hard to grasp? Did you go to a Baltimore school?
Wow, what are you 12? I went to a California school, can we hug it out?
I hate talking smack on threads about other teams, but PEDs are not going to be forgotten. The Black Sox are not going to be forgotten. And the Giants and Astros sign stealing systems are not going to be forgotten.
People do not bittch and moan about the Black Sox anymore (except maybe you). So you need to calm down and relax.
While I don’t think this was karma like OP said I don’t feel bad about Altuve getting hurt because of his role in a cheating scandal. All you people saying, “get over it” you are the problem with society. These guys literally f*cked the game, and the governing body just let them go. No on is held accountable for their actions anymore
So now this is a societal problem? Seriously?
Riddle me this “great bambi”: If the Yankees werent the team that got screwed over by the Stros. Do you think you would be a tenth as adament about it? I doubt it.
again, idiot, not a Yankees fan. lol you are so foolish
Serious question. Do many people ever talk about the Giants sign stealing system anymore? I had to google it, and even then barely remembered it. It seems to me that it has been largely forgotten.
As a Sox fan, I got over the black Sox just last year. Oh, and how long does Shoeless Joe have to be dead until he gets into the Hof?
Bambi, this is just projection on your part. You are not a bambi exceptionalist. You suck as much as anyone else at everything you do. And your moral compass is about as easy to use as a far-right conspiracy theorist’s (as in easy with no thought involved).
I met Bobby Thompson once. His son was on my high school JV team.
Odd, it’s like the Civil War or the Great Depression. I wasn’t around for them either but we all have heard of these tragedies and have internal narratives about them. As a Dodger fan, I had heard the official narrative about the 1951 National League pennant race and The Shot Heard Around The World. It was nice to see all the sordid details come out decades later but evidently few know or care. The Astro incident is different because people got punished shortly after and that will be the narrative for the baseball history books.
Hank Greenberg’s Tigers did it too. Same for the White Sox in the 80’s. Do people talk about them? Just curious.
These incidents and all others from 1899 until the Astros went completely unpunished. The punishment is what makes Astros notable in a historical sense. Everyone remembers the Black Sox and not in a good way. Astros of 2017 will also be remembered and not in a good way. Why? Because people got officially punished.
Halo11fan-what Giants sign stealing system? There was none. Don’t lump the Giants in with the astros
Giants were doing it, just like his Angels were.
jjd002-ummm no the Giants were not, show me one article.
@odd
Dodger fans haven’t forgotten. In fact, the Dodgers got screwed in 1951 and 2017! How sweet is that?
@agnes
The HBO documentary “Ghosts Of Flatbush” covers the 1951 Sign stealing extensively. Apparently, Durocher had someone in the Polo Grounds CF clubhouse with a telescope, relaying signs to the dugout. I’m a Yankees fan, no dog in this fight. But it happened.
Don’t worry one day you will get a life.
stan3413, the snowflake we all need today.
Karma must be a slow b&tch.
Yep. It’s funny they say Karma six years later for something he took no part of. The guy has more money than any of us will see, two rings, a MVP, lots of all star games, multiple pennants. But him missing 2 months is karma for something the whole league was doing 6 years ago.
Might as well put a No Vacancy sign on your face because the Astros own the room in your head, and rent free.
Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox fans. Boo hoo hooing.
See ya in October. Well, a couple of you maybe.
For any other team, this would be a massive blow to the roster. For the Astros, this will probably be a flesh wound.
Sure, the same “flesh wound” the Black Knight had. How’d that battle end again?
The Astros have depth unlike a lot of other teams. It worked when McCormick replaced Springer and when Pena replaced Correa.
Did you miss the entire article? The Astros don’t have another Peña or McCormick to step in for Altuve
Those were multi-year plans to let a player walk. This is an injury 2 weeks before opening day
For all the options, since Altuve is the best 2B, of course they are lesser options. They will plug Hensley in and do just fine. As for Machado, at number 4 on the depth chart, I sincerely doubt the Astros are concerned that he would not be optionable. If he is given an opportunity, and fails, why keep him when the next man is up? If he holds the position until Altuve is back, they will be replacing him with Altuve. So again, why keep him?
Ramon Urias of Os. Stud fielder who is a SS but has played mostly 2b and 3b for Birds. Dirt cheap with plenty of controllable yrs (doesn’t hit FA until 2027). Enough MLB experience to be comfortable stepping in for Altuve immediately. Once he’s healthy Ramon becomes 4th infielder. Why trade him? O’s have a log jam of young talent (plus Frazier) that will be the options when Os are relevant in 25, maybe 24. He’s inexpensive but a gold glover so Stros would be giving up quality player(s) in return.
Astros have already said that Hensley will step in at 2B while Altuve is out.
@WebSS. Cool intel. Thanks. That said, this article states Hensley is one of 3 in house team options they are considering. What’s your source?
“Step in”. Really? Article says Jose could miss significant time. Is Hensley experienced enough to be the go to replacement over an extended period of time? If so, kudos to the Stros! Best answer in these scenerios is always in house.
Hensley is 26, did well in his short time last season, and has had a decent spring. I doubt the team expects much but he could put up a good streak over the first month and a half like most rookies do. By then, hopefully, Altuve will be finishing rehab and maybe one of the other utility guys step up. Situations like these is what gives underdogs their chances to prove it.
The Astros website or the Twitter of their beat writer Brian McTaggart. Its been a few days so don’t remembere which.
They also lost Springer and Correa permanently. They will only lose Altuve for 2-3 months. The Astros will be fine. This maybe impacts an extra 1-2 losses until he returns.
And Cue more mouth frothing by morons like Olbermann over the WBC.
Sorry to tell all of you but the WBC is more intrinsically meaningful to baseball (notice I didn’t say *major league baseball*) than the major league regular season. That’s kind of sad but that’s the way it is.
KFC from Barstool expected Astros fans to join him on Twitter.
KFC is an idiot
The real tragedy is how bad Daniel Bard pitched. No mention.
It was like watching Rick Ankiel’s implosion all over again. I know DeRosa has been criticized for not having anyone up in the pen soon enough, but I would have pulled Bard even if Adam wasn’t ready – he couldn’t have done any worse.
Can’t stand him but don’t want anybody to get hurt in the wbc..
Sad to lose Altuve. I do not see him returning till maybe June or July. I am not sure on healing time for this injury. But as said could be out a while till maybe all star break.
His production will be missed and more. Will it hurt us on quest to repeat as top in division etc. I do not see any of our in house options as big help. Yes they deserve the chance.
Who will be our lead off hitter now as well.
I do wish Altuve well in his recovery
Scr_w the Astros and Altuve.
That’s a shame
Karma.
Can’t cheat his way out of this one.
Growth hormones can help him heal faster…
Maybe some electric buzz therapy.
Or maybe he can borrow some ring worm meds from one of his colleagues.
Man that 2022 World Series title is serious karma, too.
How do you think Bellinger won an MVP Mr Dodgers fan?
By having one freak year. Happened many times throughout history.
That’s not it. He had a pretty good three year run. Then fell off a cliff at a certain time. Wonder what happened prior to his step nosedive.
He fell of the cliff when he got injured. First his shoulder and then a broken leg.
He jammed his shoulder after celebrating a homer against the Braves. Look it up.
That’s not the reason he went from mvp to worst hitter in the league.
Yes it is.
No it isn’t. No larger recipient of the sign stealing era than Cody Bellinger.
Stop with this narrative. Dude was clearly impacted by injury. Sign stealing doesn’t increase power. It’s not as if Belly is suddenly missing every piitch.
Not only did he dislocate his shoulder in the 2020 NLCS, but he also suffered a fractured fibula in April 2021 which put him on the shelf for two months and messed up his mechanics.
Javy Baez, I bet Tigers would love to trade him for a marginal prospect to dump his salary! If he performs he’ll opt out, if not he’s not horribly expensive. Might even work a trade back to Detroit in original terms, sort of a rental so Tigers can play young players this year
Yes, the Astros will trade for a $25MM multi year contract because Altuve is out for 2 months. There’s little chance, after last years debacle, that any team will top Baez’ current contract, so he is not opting out. The Tigers wouldn’t consider taking him back once he’s traded. He’s not Harris’ type of player.
The problem with that scenario is Baez might not play up and not opt out. The ‘Stros would be stuck with him. I’d be surprised if Houston would risk that. I highly doubt the Tigers would throw money in the deal to offset that contract.
OTOH, they might be interested in Jonathan Schoop. Final year of 2 year contract. Not horribly expensive. Gold glove quality defender and probably will play his tail off for another contract.
Tigers!!!! Ask them!
To suggest that the Yanks would trade Torres to HOU is quite humourous.
Why is it humorous? They have made many trades together over the years.
Not since McCann in the ’16-’17 off-season. There not going to trade them an above average offensive starter to replace Altuve. Come on man.
Not saying they will. They are much better than everyone else in the AL – two months without Altuve isn’t going to hurt them that much.
So he must not be an MVP-type, then.
I think he is an MVP type, and youre an idiot.
I was being sarcastic, but if you argue that your team is going to win without the MVP, then how valuable is he, really?
Will still win the pennant.
It is a bummer for houston. I wonder if this will change what teams will allow next time around.
On a side note it was a little bit of a downer broadcast last night. It was pretty clear to me the announcers were pulling for Venezuela. The last words in postgame were Venezuela deserved better than this. Bizarre
Did they say or imply why Venezuela deserved better?
The announcers have been pretty neutral so far and it’s good for the international viewers. I actually like it.
Villar would make sense. I mean he isn’t great, or even good, but posted a WAR over 1.5 in 2021, and over 4 in 2019. He might suck but even then might be better than what they will wind up with in-house. Simmons was decent a few years ago but fell off a cliff.
Astros have a way of getting good production from people, Villar isn’t even 32 yet. Might be the best option they have, I’m sure they will give some consideration. Not a whole lot of other good options other than to call weak teams and inquire about trades.
Shoeless Joe Jackson…..Jose Altuve….two plays cut from the same cloth.
Perhaps innocent, but both have and will continue to suffer the actions of their team.
I hope the ring was worth it.
Nothing in common between the two. Obtuse?
After Diaz and Altuve of the Garbage Banger Bunch, teams are going to ban pro players from playing in the WBC.
The owners of the teams CREATED the WBC.
So?
Since you are obviously logically challenged I will make it simple.
The owners created the WBC.
The WBC makes them lots and lots of money.
The WBC is increasing the popularity of their product worldwide both with fans and players.
More fans equals more money
More player interest means a better product
A better product equals even more fans
More fans equals even more money
Owners are in the game to make ..
Guess…
Come on I know you can figure it out…
Have you got it yet…
Yup…
MONEY.
And?
As I said, you wouldn’t understand. I tried to make it as simple as possible, but even that was FAR beyond your ability to comprehend.
Explain further if you believe in what you are saying.
As much as I don’t like the guy (yes I’m still butt hurt over the cheating scandal), he is a great player and seeing him hurt really stinks. I know it happens, but….
May I remind people that Altuve refused to participate in the sign stealing…..
how do you know that, because he said so or others did… why would that be more believable than saying he did?
Knowing about it IS participating in.
Like saying you knew of a robbery but didn’t steal anything but you didn’t try to stop them either. I am sure the victim feels better about it.
Your Yankees were cheating as well.
They just didn’t get caught.
They got caught. They just didn’t stop.
our cheating wasn’t remotely close or as effective as the Astros.
if it were we would be mentioned in the same sentences of animosity as the Astros, but we aren’t.
This is on the Astros, not just for cheating, but also for the smugness with which they carried themselves while they were doing it.
There is a post-game interview where you can see Bregman laughing about it when asked about his success, almost taunting the teams they were cheating.
Shameful.
They literally taught Houston how to do it. The Yankees haven’t been as good as Houston since 2015 with both teams going illegal things. Not being as successful as Houston doesn’t mean what they were doing was not effective.
nah man, what the Astros did was way, WAY above what the Yankees did.
No Yankee reprimand was issued, no punishment, so dont even bother.
This was a top-to-bottom organizational decision conspiring to cheat on an unprecedented level. Akin to the black sox players sitting in a room conspiring to throw games.
Christ, there are videotapes where you can hear the banging of the trash cans in real-time during the game and it would have kept going had they not been outed.
There is no leveraging what the Astros did, by bringing in other teams and saying everyone does it.
No..no one did it like the Astros.
They were fined for what they did.
The players weren’t.
Sorry bud. You don’t get to cheat and then get upset when others out-cheat you. That’s like saying you stole a bike from your neighbor but then got upset when they stole your car. Also, you’d have to be very naive if you think, after Beltran told the Astros their sign-stealing was behind the times, that the only thing the Yankees did was use a runner system. Either way, you cheated and other teams did as well. The 2017 Astros hit better on the road than at home, and won more road games than home games. It was wrong but so was what the Yankees were doing. You are excusing cheating because another team did it worse against your cheating team.
Cole and Verlander participated in the cheating scandal too. They knew about it but they didn’t do anything to avoid it
I really wish the authors of these articles would stop explaining OPS+. Seriously, if you’re a big enough baseball fan to follow MLBTR you don’t need an explanation, and you certainly do not need it in every article that mentions a hitter.
Might even things out now in the AL West
Go get Jonathan Villar‼️
Altuve is going to get a lot less sympathy because of the cheating scandal. That’s just the way it is, and the way it’s always going to be. He and his 2017 teammates will forever be remembered for the trash cans.
We’ll see how great Houston’s farm is now haha. They have only below average players to fill his shoes 56-77 wRC+ haha. Seattle really needs to take advantage of April-June! I was expecting Seattle/Houston to be neck and neck to the finish line before this happened.
Gonna be very interesting by the all-star break
Seattle still won’t be close. They aren’t near as talented as Houston. Will take multiple long term injuries for Seattle to finish within 5 games of Houston.
Keep praying hard for that outcome, hos. I can even see you cringing a little as you say it, as if you know what you’re saying is not quite true, doesn’t feel quite right. Trust your gut, hos.
Seems like a place for the Brewers to trade Mike Brousseau. Brice Turang has looked great this spring so has Anderson since the Brewers refuse to move Hiura and Voit needs his place in the lineup.
Shouldn’t cost much in trade.
It could have happened during spring training…but it didn’t.
John Mozeliak on line 1 with a hell of a deal for Paul DeJong
@redbirds22 Hi John. Saw you called. Well, we would gladly take Paul Dejong off your hands if you’ll include Jordan Walker. OR just DFA DeJong??
John Mozeliak on line 1 with a hell of a deal for Paul Dejong. Paul and 4MM for a player to be named later.
Someone sign DiDi, he only needs one more hit for his 1000th career hit !!
Hensley at 2B or a free agent pickup as rosters start getting cut. Jose Iglesias would be a fit if he doesn’t make the Marlins
You guys hear that AL West door slowly creaking open????
Lol. Not happening. Nobody will be within 10 games of Houston.
LOL all false confidence and bluster. How could he actually believe that to be true? The world is a strange place.
Not false confidence at all. In what world is anyone in the west near them? There are a bunch of averages teams behind a great team. The false confidence is likely from Seattle fans. No idea why when they finished 14 games back and didn’t get any better and the Astros haven’t gotten any worse.
People acting as if a guy is more likely to be hit in the WBC against a top tier pitcher than by a dude wearing #93 who is headed to A ball after tte first round of cuts.
Injuries happen in games. Regular games. Spring games. WBC games.
Yeah but it really sucks when it happens in a WBC game.
It really sucks when it happens in any game, be it WBC, spring training, regular season, or postseason.
Yall are ridiculous
I was on the roadside, daydreaming about the way things sometimes are !!!!!!
We’ll, that’s garbage.
120% intensity after a week and half of legitimate spring training. What could go wrong?
Ha
Tough break, if Yordan doesn’t get well, this team could suffer.
Throw a prospect at the Tigers, and you can have Jonathan Schoop.
PLEASE!!!
Surgery is a bummer. I wish him a speedy recovery.
To all the people crappin’ on the WBC I gotta ask the question. Do you want baseball to be even more of an international sport or not? I do. This is the only way it’s going to happen.
Fine they can keep the WBC, just keep the MLB top guys out of it. If you are relied upon by your team to be in the starting 9 or the 5-man rotation or one of the top 3 bullpen guys you should opt out. The other scrubs can play but not the main dudes.
SOB, the only reason FOR the WBC is to have a time and place for MLB players to showcase the sport in front of an international audience. A time when any of the 3 major baseball leagues are playing. That would be MLB, NPB, and KBO.
The OWNERS created this showcase, it’s not going away, and MLB players will continue to be in it.
When NONE of the major leagues are playing.
I would love to see the US put in their best AAA players for the WBC and leave the major leagues alone.
See above.
You are missing the point. The MLB isn’t the best of the best anymore. Trotting out AAA players isn’t going to be good enough to prove it. Adapt or get let behind. You sound a little like people who didn’t want to integrate the Negro leagues. Not because of racism but because of arrogance
The best of the best play in MLB.
If not to start their pro careers, certainly once they are able. Once they are free agents or able to be posted every great player comes to MLB to test his mettle against the best.
24 countries are represented in MLB. Those that can’t make it in MLB go play in those other leagues around the world.
Not arrogance. Fact.
*Laughs, in Dodger.
No timetable for his return? Does that mean he’ll never play baseball again because of a broken thumb?
Are we having fun at the WBC yet?
@etex211
That’s what you get when MLB pushes for all these hard throwers that pitch for 1 inning and have no control.
Give me Greg Maddox any day over what we have nowadays.
Japan sure did. They beat us at our own game, how embarrassing. If people took the WBC seriously, as they should, USA should win it every year.
I blame the teams that spend millions for players. They baby the players so that they become brittle. Why not blame the ones putting up the money, not the fact that players want to play for their countries.
I heard a source saying 8-10 weeks.
Does anyone really think the players came to the WBC after only a week or two of workouts? They’ve been working out for the last two months, at least. This isn’t 1938.
I get it if people don’t like the WBC, but don’t blame it for injuries. Injuries happen every spring.
I was sweating bullets hoping nothing would happen to Julio!
That was the Thumb he used to hit that buzzer under his uniform.
Oof, tough holding TWO Commissioner’s Trophies with only 1 useable thumb lolol
He got that because of cheating as well.
Excuses
– Tools of the incompetent
Once a cheater, always a cheater. Karma! Asstros!
@frankj They’ve been to the ALCS 6 straight years, and won the WS last year. I’m not a fan either, but if they’ve got bad karma, I wish teams I rooted for had “bad karma”, too!
As it is in the real world, people get away with stuff, and a lot of them don’t suffer any kind of justice, sadly.
I honestly think the Astros may not win the division. They were the best team by default after 2017. Then, the Mariners got good in 2021. And the Rangers might be good too. Astros are still a good team but there’s competition.
Astros won last year but I personally think the competition wasn’t all as it should have been. Phillies overperformed, Yankees limped into the playoffs. The Astros still have great pitching, and that is what got them to win, but their offense is nowhere near the 2017 team (trashcans or not).
I would not be surprised if their era starts to dwindle. The loss of Correa was big, now it’s Altuve.
Seattle played them the best last October playoffs with like a 4 or 5 run differential over those 3 games. All other teams Houston played were slaughtered. If Altuve can’t ‘resume’ baseball activities for 2 months that places him around May 22 before he can even touch a baseball. With missing all of ST due to the WBC he will need a minimum of 2-4 weeks but prob more on a minor league assignment. I don’t see him back until the end of June.
Seattle definitely needs to come out of the gates swinging, and get as far ahead as possible with an incredible start to the season. This could be a great opportunity for a Seattle
@drfelix I’m from Chicago where all baseball teams suck. But I’m pretty objective, and think it would take a lot, lot more than a couple months of Altuve being out for the M’s to get out to a big lead vs the Astros. I’ll be surprised if they are within 8 games of the Astros by season end, which would cut the number they were behind last year by 1/2. I think the M’s are a good team also… but the Astros are the champs, and are just a beast of a team.
@pwn The loss of Correa didn’t prevent them from winning the World Series last year. Nor will losing Altuve 2-3 months mean they are not still the team to beat for the rest of the AL come playoff time. Maybe they take a step back, finally, but they’ve been to the ALCS 6 straight years. I think they will get there again, at least.
Will miss 2 months of the regular season (you know, the part that actually matters) just for the WBC (the part that doesn’t matter) owners need to start putting in players contracts not to participate or if they do participate and get injured, they don’t get paid.
Let the David Hensley Rookie of the Year campaign begin…
Waste Management services is hiring to empty trashcans if he needs money for another tattoo!
I don’t mind the world baseball classic, but I don’t particularly like it either. Last I checked, baseball is back in the Olympics, so why can’t we leave it at that?
The issue I would have as an owner is that my star players are out there, not controlled by my organization, playing competitively for something that has nothing to do with my team. That’s a big risk for no reward.
You can say “players get hurt in ST” all you want, but their playing time and schedules are determined by THEIR staff, not some random dude. I rent cars quite a bit when I travel and I am way harder on those vehicles than I am my own because at the end of the week I just give it back, who cares. Altuve’s injury wasn’t one of neglect or ridiculous coaching, but there is a part of me that asks “why was he even playing to begin with” because I want him to help the Astros repeat, not to have him help Venezuela win some meaningless tournament.
I wonder how many players would participate if their MLB pay were halted due to injuries suffered in the WBC.. in other words, if the risk were theirs, vice the MLB teams.
I’m not sold on the WBC just yet. And I get the angst about fans not wanting their players injured in an exhibition. But before there was a WBC, and before there were million dollar contracts, there was WINTER BALL. Guys like Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente (teammates on Santurce one year!) and hundreds of others routinely played in the Caribbean when the crows flew south. Not knowing the particulars, I’m sure players got injured once in a while. Teams and players moved forward. Part of the game.
That’s true. If THEY had to pay the price for missing games I’m sure their attitude would change.