Yordan Alvarez has been on the Astros’ 10-day injured list since May 3 due to inflammation in his right hand, and the slugger was thought to be nearing a return to the lineup as early as today. However, Alvarez has now been shut down from swinging due to what GM Dana Brown described as a “very small fracture” in the ring finger of Alvarez’s hand.
The fracture was discovered after a live batting practice session on Friday, as Alvarez left the session feeling some discomfort in his hand. Imaging found a fracture that is already about 60 percent healed, Brown said, and surgery won’t be required.
Though the GM said Alvarez might still be back in “the near future” and will continue other baseball activities besides hitting, this more serious injury raises new questions about exactly how long one of the league’s top hitters will be sidelined. Hand problems have long been an issue for Alvarez, though his past hand-related injuries have also been just related to inflammation and soreness, rather than structural problems.
Alvarez had yet to get going (a .210/.306/.340 slash line in 121 plate appearances) at the time of his IL placement, but the three-time All-Star has traditionally been a bit of a slow starter. It speaks to Alvarez’s high standards that a career .265/.350/.488 slash line in March and April counts as his weakest performance in any month of the regular season, though obviously his numbers this year were well below his past March/April production.
Houston’s lineup has still managed to post roughly middle-of-the-pack numbers even with Alvarez either struggling or absent, not to mention a lack of production from such regulars as Christian Walker and Brendan Rodgers. Despite also dealing with several pitchers on the IL, the Astros are still in first place in the AL West, so another trip to the playoffs (or another deep run) certainly seems plausible if Houston can get everyone healthy and on track. An in-form Alvarez would naturally be a major piece of that puzzle, but his IL stint will now stretch into June.
As noted by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, Alvarez’s situation shares some similarities with Kyle Tucker’s injury absence from last season. Initial testing of what seemed to be a bone bruise in Tucker’s shin missed a small fracture, and Tucker ended up missing over three months of the regular season. As with Tucker, Brown said that the amount of inflammation resulted in Alvarez’s fracture being overlooked by the first images, though an MRI did correctly diagnose a muscle strain.
“I think you don’t see the calcium buildup until like five weeks or so and that’s part of the problem,” Brown said. “And then when you do these imagings and you have so much fluid and inflammation, it’s very, very difficult to diagnose these. And this is for the professionals that do it, it’s very difficult. And even with multiple opinions, it’s very difficult to see.”
how does one fracture his hand without being aware
According to ESPN, “General manager Dana Brown said he believes the fracture in Alvarez’s fourth metacarpal wasn’t discovered in initial imaging May 6 because there was too much inflammation and fluid.”
That truly makes no medical sense whatsoever. Inflammation and fluid won’t hide a fracture on an X-ray or a MRI.
“That truly makes no medical sense”…Maybe that’s why ESPN doesn’t tout itself as a leading source of medical information, knowledge and science.
I doubt he going for an MRI for a possible fracture. Soft tissue is their gold standard. Standard X-ray first up for sure and you can absolutely not see the micro variety sometimes. A CT scan probably would have caught it.
This from an orthopaedic surgeon.
Question: Is it possible that when a person fractures their arm that it can be too swollen for the x-ray to be clearly read?
That is a common misconception. The bones can be seen by x-ray with or without swelling.
Playing pro baseball.
total negligence on astros part
how the f did they not know he had a broken hand for 6 weeks??
the imaging only NOW showed the fracture?
who is the f is their team doctor? dr seuss?
how incompetent can a professional organization be? with its #1 star?
Here’s how it works. If it’s small enough to not be seen on an X-ray, they generally don’t pursue it with further imaging because there’s no point. Treatment is the same. Rest it until it it’s better. No alignment or any intervention required.
Hey, we’re trying to get angry here.
What’s with the intelligence and logic?
This is the comments section dammit!
Did he try to go to the bathroom in the dark like Mookie…
“Total negligence on Astros part”…Why do some people always need someone to demonize and blame for life’s disappointments?
Apparently you yourself are such a good “doctor” you can diagnose from afar and don’t even need medical reports, MRIs/imaging, background information or patient interviews to do so.
It’s like I always say, why hire an expensive Ivy League doctor when all the world’s leading doctors are right here in the MLBTRADERUMORS comments section.
I think you responded to the wrong post. You want the one above mine
“I think you responded”..That’s why I quoted him. Some people are afraid to receive direct questions and I couldn’t reply directly to him.
If you couldn’t reply directly to him, that means he muted you. I doubt he’s the first one to do that.
“If you couldn’t”..He’s the first one I’ve seen. Like I suggested before, I didn’t even know what it was until you told me.
This site also has me as muting several people, when I’ve never purposely muted anyone. Oh well, you learn something new everyday.
Luckily, DH’s don’t need to swing a bat as part of their jobs… wait…
“He’s not a world class”…The Astros window has officially shut. They expedited this process with the Hader & Abreu signings, but it was inevitable.
Hader and Abreu are one of the best late-inning tandems in baseball. What in the heck are you talking about?
hes talking about first baseman jose abreu not pitcher abreu that has been with the astros forever.. and I agree with him on what he said
“You should see the other guy.”
It’s was certainly expected that not having Bregman and Tucker in the lineup with him was going to have some effect. However his babip is almost 100 below his career average and 70 below league average. It’s almost a certainty that there will be positive regression in that regard going forward. Many of his underlying metrics are consistent with his career averages.
He’s too good to keep struggling like he has for much longer. And as the article says, he’s always been a bit of a slow starter.
He’ll be fine once he’s back and healthy.
You’re Done Alvarez.
If only there were actual standings we could look at to invalidate this scorching hot take.
Wait, he has small hands and one is fractured?
Saw “very small hand” fracture and assumed it was Taco Man or Kenny Pickett but no, not this time.
Once again, the team doctors miss the fracture (remember Tucker’s leg last year ?) and it is only discovered when a second opinion is sought from a doctor not affiliated with the club..
Time to consider some performance evaluation of the club medicos I think.
You need to consider that sometimes, you can only see the tiny ones when it’s started healing. The new bone formation is what is eventually visible.
I got a thumb fracture catching balls from middle-school Japanese pitchers. They can throw hard and I was out for at least 3-months.
Were you not using a mitt ??
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
I was using a mitt.
He doesn’t need any protection. He’s a great hitter and great hitters produce with or without “protection.” And they have a future star hitter in Cam Smith who just might end up hitting behind him before too long.
Star hitters do fare much better with lineup protection. It typically allows them to see many more pitches over the plate as it’s more dangerous trying to pitch around them.
A fracture is a fracture big or “small”
“Very Small” hands, like another guy in Orange