Astros Rumors

Jeff Samardzija Unlikely To Waive No-Trade Clause

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2017 at 7:55pm CDT

Jeff Samardzija’s name has come up frequently in recent trade rumors, but the 32-year-old right-hander’s five-year, $90MM contract allows him to block trades to all but eight teams. Moreover, Samardzija tells Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that if approached by the Giants about a trade to one of the teams over which he has veto power, he wouldn’t be interested in waiving the clause.

“I love being here,” said Samardzija shortly after praising the Giants’ core players and suggesting that the team fully believes it can turn the tide next season. Samardzija smiled yesterday when telling Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he “[doesn’t] remember” the eight teams to which he can be traded without his approval (Twitter link), but Baggarly now reports the full list in a separate column.

According to Baggarly, Samardzija can be traded to the Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, Athletics and Nationals without his consent. All other teams — including the Astros, who have been the team most frequently connected to Samardzija on the rumor circuit — require Samardzija’s consent, and it doesn’t sound like he’s interested in green-lighting any proposals.

Samardzija is owed $18MM annually and has struggled in the estimation of traditional metrics this season. He’s sporting a 5-11 record with a 4.85 ERA, but most other statistical means of evaluation are rather bullish on the righty. He’s averaging 9.7 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9, both of which would be the best marks of his career, and leading the Majors in K/BB ratio. His 43.3 percent ground-ball rate is only a tick below average, and he’s inducing more swings at pitches out of the strike zone than he ever has before. Samardzija’s fastball velocity has also held strong at an average of just over 94 mph, and he’s averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings per start. Metrics like FIP (3.49), xFIP (3.13) and SIERA (3.28 prior to today’s strong outing) all view him much more favorably than earned run average.

Samardzija has struggled with men on base, in part due to the fact that he’s one of many pitchers throughout the league that has seen his HR/9 rate and HR/FB ratio spike as balls are leaving the yard at a higher rate than ever before in MLB history. And while his durability and K/BB numbers are impressive, some teams will no doubt express some skepticism that Samardzija would be able to better keep the ball in the yard by vacating the spacious AT&T Park as his home stadium. The remaining money on his contract also figures to be a concern to come clubs, as he represents a fairly sizable commitment to those that are near the luxury tax threshold.

All of that sounds to be mostly a moot point anyhow. Among the teams to which Samardzija can be moved, the Red Sox don’t seem likely to pursue a starter, while the Mets and A’s aren’t contending. The Angels are a fringe contender at best and have luxury tax concerns, while the Nationals are said to be more focused on relievers and may shy away from the money remaining on his deal. It’s at least possible that one of the other teams listed shows some interest, but the Yankees are presently focused on Sonny Gray, while the Cubs have already added Jose Quintana and the Dodgers have been most heavily linked to Yu Darvish (to say nothing of the longstanding Dodgers/Giants division rivalry).

Astros Outright Ashur Tolliver

By Steve Adams | July 25, 2017 at 10:23pm CDT

The Astros outrighted left-handed reliever Ashur Tolliver off the 40-man roster earlier today, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Astros have yet to formally announce the move and have not announced a corresponding move.

An offseason waiver claim from the Angels organization, the 29-year-old Tolliver appeared in just three big league games and totaled five innings with the Astros in 2017. Tolliver has had a rough go of it in Triple-A Fresno this season, allowing 25 earned runs on 32 hits and 29 walks with 22 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. That’s a notable departure from a 2016 campaign in which Tolliver logged a 2.23 ERA with 10.2 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 through 44 1/3 frames across three minor league levels.

Tolliver was originally drafted by the Orioles in the fifth round 2009, one pick before the Giants took Brandon Belt.

Trade Rumors: Dodgers, Luhnow, Astros, Pirates, Melky

By Mark Polishuk | July 24, 2017 at 12:03am CDT

The Dodgers were reported to be interested in Yu Darvish even before today’s news broke that Clayton Kershaw is very likely headed to the disabled list. Regardless of whether Kershaw’s injury proves to be serious or not, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times argues that the Dodgers should still acquire Darvish or a similar front-of-the-rotation starter. With the team having a legitimate chance at a World Series title, Hernandez feels the time has come for the Dodgers front office to make a bold trade of valued prospects to add an ace that could at least help lessen the postseason load on Kershaw or (worst case scenario) replace Kershaw entirely if his back problems are serious.

Here’s some more trade chatter from around the league…

In an interview with Astros Radio (hat tip to MLB.com’s Christian Boutwell), GM Jeff Luhnow said that his team’s deadline plans have changed thanks to Collin McHugh returning from the DL and Dallas Keuchel also expected to soon get back in action. “We were thinking we may have [to] go out and get a depth starter — a fourth, fifth starter guy to help us get through the season,” Luhnow said. “That’s no longer the case. If anything, we’ve going to have to put guys in the bullpen.” Of course, Houston has been linked to bigger names than just back-of-the-rotation types, as names like Sonny Gray, Jaime Garcia and Justin Verlander have been mentioned in connection with the Astros’ trade talks. Luhnow added that the ’Stros are still open to pursuing other options that may help them in the postseason, which could hint at pouncing on a bigger name if a good deal becomes available.
In his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan (hat tip to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Pirates GM Neal Huntington said that the team will keep an eye on the outfield trade market with Gregory Polanco on the DL and Starling Marte ineligible for postseason play. Huntington said that asking prices for outfielders in May and June were too high, and the Bucs still won’t “overpay” for a player that may not be much of an upgrade over their internal options, plus the GM is hopeful that Polanco won’t miss much time recovering from his strained hamstring.
While the White Sox are continuing to trade veterans, Melky Cabrera is hoping to remain with the team, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes. “I like this team and I would like to stay here for a long time, not just until the end of the season. But I don’t have control of those decisions,” Cabrera said via a translator. Cabrera wasn’t garnering much trade interest as of a month ago, though the veteran has continued to post solid numbers at the plate. Cabrera is owed approximately $5.2M in salary for the remainder of the season before hitting free agency this winter.

Latest On Jaime Garcia

By Jeff Todd | July 23, 2017 at 12:41pm CDT

SUNDAY, 12:41pm: Add the Brewers to the list of teams interested in Garcia, per Crasnick (Twitter link).

10:34am: Minnesota and Atlanta continue to discuss Garcia, but the Twins are also focusing on starters from other teams, Wolfson indicates (on Twitter).

SATURDAY, 1:32pm: Righty Nick Burdi was involved in the deal, Rosenthal tweets. Burdi had Tommy John surgery in late May and will be out until next season. The Braves already obviously would have been aware of that, and they haven’t shied away from acquiring injured pitchers in the past (such as Max Fried, who they got when they traded Justin Upton to the Padres in the 2014-15 offseason). So perhaps the player whose medicals they took issue with was someone else. It’s still possible, though, that they saw less than they hoped for in Burdi’s medical reports. The 24-year-old Burdi had an 0.53 ERA, 10.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 17 relief innings with Double-A Chattanooga before the injury.

11:30am: Talks between the Braves and Twins came to an impasse due to a medical issue the Braves had with a prospect they would have received from the Twins, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. The two sides are currently considering other options, though they could return to the table at some point.

FRIDAY 8:34pm: All indications are that Garcia will take the ball for Atlanta tonight. The front office is in contact with a half-dozen organizations regarding the lefty at present, Feinsand tweets.

3:04pm: It is still possible that the Twins will acquire Garcia, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports that such a trade is “not probable.”

2:35pm: Garcia will make his scheduled start for the Braves tonight against the Dodgers, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. Talks are still ongoing between the Braves and other teams about Garcia’s services, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports, so a late deal could still happen. Aaron Blair was scratched from a minor league start yesterday and is in Los Angeles to make a spot outing should Garcia be scratched at the last minute.

9:32am: Teams besides the Twins are still talking to the Braves about Garcia, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter). It isn’t known who the other clubs in the mix are, though earlier today, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweeted that the Astros and Royals were two of the the teams that had previously shown interest in Garcia. Kansas City, however, now appears to be more focused on acquiring a right-handed starter.

TODAY, 7:14am: No deal has been finalized between the two sides as of this morning, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports.

THURSDAY, 8:24pm: Minnesota is “very likely” to take over all of Garcia’s remaining salary (about $4.7MM), per 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter).

7:42pm: For what it’s worth, Garcia is still in a Braves’ uniform tonight, Kevin McAlpin of the Braves Radio Network tweets. Of course, that doesn’t mean the deal isn’t nearing completion; he isn’t scheduled to start until tomorrow.

6:44pm: It’s possible the Twins will be receiving an additional player in the deal, per LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune (via Twitter), though it seems that’d likely be a lower-level player of some kind.

6:12pm: It seems the swap is done except for the formalities. It’s being finalized right now, tweets Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, while MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger adds on Twitter that the sides are currently waiting on medical assessments. Atlanta will be receiving a minor-league player in return, he adds.

5:51pm: Minnesota is closing in on a deal for Garcia, Rosenthal tweets.

5:46pm: Amidst ongoing rumors that Braves starter Jaime Garcia may be dealt in short order, the Twins are engaged in discussions on the veteran southpaw, according to Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’s not apparent at this point whether other teams are still involved or whether an agreement could be nearing completion.

Garcia is probably one of the better rental starters on a market that doesn’t have many of great interest (pending the availability of Yu Darvish). I’d generally concur with MLBTR’s readers, who rated him alongside Jeremy Hellickson, and behind Trevor Cahill and Marco Estrada, in a poll yesterday.

Over his 106 innings this year, Garcia has pitched to a 4.33 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 along with a healthy 54.7% groundball rate. At times, previously, he has shown a fair bit more, but that sort of output likely represents a reasonable expectation moving forward for Garcia, who the Braves acquired over the winter after a long run with the Cardinals.

Those looking for upside will note that Garcia does carry an 11.5% swinging-strike rate that is more reminiscent of his prime-level work. And it’s important to note that he has been plenty durable recently after experiencing several seasons marred by shoulder troubles.

While Garcia doesn’t necessarily excite, he should represent a sturdy option for a club that needs good innings down the stretch. That’s the case for Minnesota, which finds itself firmly in the AL Central (and AL Wild Card) hunt despite a generally underwhelming overall performance — particularly from its pitching staff.

The Twins just lost Phil Hughes back to the DL, where Hector Santiago also resides. Neither has been effective when healthy, and the same holds of Kyle Gibson and Adalberto Mejia — whose palatable 4.22 ERA isn’t supported by the peripherals. That leaves just two reliable rotation pieces in Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios. The Twins did just add former Braves hurler Bartolo Colon, though it’s anybody’s guess what he’ll provide.

While the Minnesota front office has focused more on the possibility of acquiring a controllable starter, it has acknowledged that rentals could also be pursued in the right circumstances. “We’re probably not going to be inclined to spend lavishly on short-term assets,” GM Thad Levine explained recently, “but we would be very open to spending aggressively on assets that we could use to propel our team forward this year and for years to come.”

Garcia would help shore things up for the rest of the season, but he’ll head to free agency thereafter. If Levine’s statement still holds, then, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the Twins won’t be sending a big package to acquire Garcia — who, it should be noted, is earning at a hefty $12MM rate this year. Taking on some salary now, though, may be the preferred route to boosting the team’s chances at earning a surprise postseason spot, particularly if the demand for the few available top-end controllable pitchers is as great as it seems.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Pirates, Astros, Gray, Darvish, Braves

By Connor Byrne | July 22, 2017 at 7:16pm CDT

Thanks to a recent surge that has helped them climb over the .500 mark, the Pirates have ruled out trading either outfielder Andrew McCutchen or utilityman Josh Harrison prior to the deadline, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link). However, they’re not necessarily going into the deadline as full-blown buyers. Rather, the team could both buy and sell, as it did last year, and is willing to listen to offers for complementary players such as left-handed setup man Tony Watson, righty reliever Juan Nicasio, third baseman David Freese and first baseman/outfielder John Jaso. As for starter Gerrit Cole, the likelihood is that he’ll stay put, though the Pirates could still entertain offers for him, per Rosenthal.

Texas Notes: McHugh, Darvish, Lucroy

By charliewilmoth | July 22, 2017 at 1:27pm CDT

Astros righty Collin McHugh will make his 2017 big-league debut in a start against the Orioles, the Astros have announced. McHugh had missed the entire season to this point with shoulder trouble. Before 2017, McHugh had an impressive three-year run in Houston in which he posted a 3.71 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over 543 innings. His return improves an Astros rotation that also currently features Lance McCullers, Charlie Morton, Mike Fiers and Brad Peacock. Dallas Keuchel is now on a rehab assignment after heading to the DL with neck discomfort in early June. Here’s more out of Texas.

The impending returns of McHugh and Keuchel don’t mean the Astros are out of the market for rotation help, however. Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets that the team watched Rangers star Yu Darvish pitch yesterday. The team is keeping tabs on all significant potential rotation additions, Morosi adds. Darvish has lately been connected to a variety of teams, including the Dodgers and Cubs.
Speaking of Darvish, the Rangers have recently been scouting the Dodgers’ and Cubs’ Triple-A teams, Evan Grant of SportsDay writes. Of course, teams frequently scout one another’s affiliates for any number of reasons, but right now, the Rangers’ interest in the Dodgers’ and Cubs’ minor-leaguers could set the groundwork for a trade. Grant adds, though, that the Cubs might be more interested in catcher Jonathan Lucroy than in Darvish. (The 31-year-old Lucroy is in the midst of a down season in Texas, with a .248/.297/.351 line so far; he’s eligible for free agency after the season. He would complement Willson Contreras behind the plate if the Rangers were to trade him to Chicago.) Grant also notes that rival clubs didn’t scout Darvish’s own start particularly heavily last night, perhaps because the 46-50 Rangers are still on the fringes of contention. It’s still not yet entirely clear what their approach to the deadline will be.

Latest On Sonny Gray

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2017 at 6:25pm CDT

6:25pm: Houston may actually be setting its sights elsewhere at the moment, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). Indeed, he says it’s not even clear if the sides are engaged presently in “serious talks.”

He adds that the Athletics have “named their price” on Gray with the Yankees. While there’s no indication that those two clubs are near to a deal, that certainly suggests it’s still an open situation.

10:28am: Trade talks between the Astros and Athletics pertaining to Sonny Gray are “heating up,” according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter links). Morosi adds that while Houston is in talks with the A’s, the Astros are also maintaining interest in trying to work out a deal that would net both Justin Verlander and Justin Wilson from the Tigers.

Rumors connecting the Astros to Gray date back to the offseason and have been persistent throughout the regular season. The Astros’ roster lacks a clear need, though most reports indicate that if they’re to make a splash, it’d be for someone that could step into the postseason rotation. Gray certainly fits that bill, as he’s rebounded from a triceps injury in 2016 and a lat strain earlier this season to look more and more like his old self in recent months.

Over the past two months, Gray has made 11 starts and totaled 68 1/3 innings with 9.0 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. The resulting 3.56 ERA is solid but appears unspectacular, however the Athletics have also backed Gray with one of baseball’s worst defenses. Fielding-independent metrics like FIP (2.87) and xFIP (3.12) are much more bullish. It’s also worth noting that Gray’s past month has been especially impressive, as he’s posted a 1.62 ERA in his past 33 1/3 innings across five starts.

If talks with the Athletics do come to a head, the Astros will be getting a boost not only for their 2017 postseason chances but also through the 2019 season. Gray is earning just $3.575MM in 2017 — a slight silver lining resulting from last year’s injury troubles — and will be eligible for arbitration twice more before hitting the open market in the 2019-20 offseason. He’d slot into the Houston rotation behind 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel and righty Lance McCullers, who are controlled through 2018 and 2021, respectively.

The talks for Verlander and Wilson are another story entirely, as the hurdles involved with a potential Verlander trade have been well documented by this point. The 34-year-old Verlander is having a down season with more than $65MM owed to him through the 2019 season, and he also has a full no-trade clause that would allow him to veto any deal. The Tigers wouldn’t be able to both shed Verlander’s salary and command a significant prospect return for him, and given his status as an icon in Detroit, it’d be a tough sell to the fans to simply move him to shed his contract.

Adding Wilson to the talks would obviously sweeten the pot and could allow the Detroit front office to extract a more lucrative return, though they could potentially do better simply by trading Wilson in a standalone deal. Interest in the dominant setup-man-turned-closer has been extremely strong this month, and he stands out as Detroit’s best trade chip. Unlike J.D. Martinez, an excellent player that nonetheless commanded a lukewarm return due to a lack of a market for his services, more than a third of the league could conceivably have legitimately strong interest in Wilson.

Brewers Have Interest In Justin Verlander

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2017 at 1:48pm CDT

The Brewers have interest in Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). Milwaukee has been linked on multiple occasions to rotation pieces that it can control beyond the 2017 season, though there’s yet to be much of a serious connection to the longtime Detroit ace. Notably, Fenech adds that the Cubs are still monitoring Verlander and further reports that while the Astros have interest, their involvement in talks “has been minimal.”

Milwaukee is currently trailing the division-rival Pirates in today’s game and has seen its lead on the NL Central dwindle to 1.5 games with both the Cubs and Pirates on winning streaks. The Brewers have had a top-heavy rotation for much of the season, and that only became a truer statement when Chase Anderson, their second-best starter in 2017, landed on the disabled list with an oblique strain that is likely to sideline him into the month of August.

The obstacles standing in the way of a Verlander trade (to any club) are notable. Verlander is owed about $67MM through the end of the 2019 season and has a full no-trade clause that allows him to veto any trade scenario with which the Tigers approach him. He’s also in the midst of one of his worst big league seasons, although he’s been sharper over his past three outings, which may at least present scouts with some confidence that he’s rounding into form.

Whether that’s enough of a sample to convince any team — let alone a fairly low-payroll club like the Brewers — to take on a significant chunk of his remaining contract remains to be seen. The Tigers are reportedly willing to include “some” cash in a trade to help enhance the return they’d get, but they’d likely have to pay down a major chunk of the contract in order to both find a taker and receive meaningful prospects in return. The Brewers have a fairly clean slate when it comes to their long-term payroll outlook, with only Ryan Braun and Eric Thames on guaranteed contracts beyond the current season, but they do have quite a few important players up for arbitration raises this winter (including Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson, Jonathan Villar, Hernan Perez and Carlos Torres).

While it’s certainly possible that there’s some gamesmanship at play here — it’d behoove the Tigers to play up the interest of two closely competing division rivals, after all — the Brewers have been linked to controllable rotation help frequently enough that it’d almost be a surprise if they didn’t check in on the Verlander market and gauge the asking price. As for the Cubs, they’ve already acquired Jose Quintana from the White Sox, but there have been indications since that time that they’re still on the lookout for pitching help, and for a team with considerable payroll capacity and questions in their long-term rotation, the notion of acquiring Verlander and having some of his $28MM salary in 2018-19 offset undoubtedly holds appeal.

The Astros were said, as of this morning, to still be in the market for Verlander, though there have also been reports that talks between Houston and Oakland regarding Sonny Gray have begun to intensify. The Brewers and Astros have both also been linked to Tigers lefty Justin Wilson, meanwhile, as each team looks to upgrade its bullpen.

Trade Chatter: Iglesias, Reds, Royals, Asdrubal, Mariners, Dodgers, Astros

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2017 at 9:34am CDT

Though Raisel Iglesias’ name has somewhat frequently been mentioned on the rumor circuit, Reds general manager Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he’s not marketing his closer to other teams. That doesn’t mean that Williams won’t listen to offers on the 27-year-old, but the GM’s comments suggest that a trade isn’t especially likely “[I]f somebody really gave you an opportunity to improve your franchise, you’d have to consider it,” said Williams of listening to offers on Iglesias. “But I really like a lot of the pieces we have, and I see us not that far from being competitive if we can get some of these young pitchers to turn the corner. If I were to trade him, you’d want something back that could help us real soon.”

Some more trade chatter to kick off Thursday morning…

From that same piece, Williams tells Buchanan that he’s more open-minded when it comes to dealing impending free agents such as Zack Cozart, Drew Storen and recently injured Scott Feldman. The knee injury that landed Feldman on the disabled list seems particularly unfortunate, as Buchanan reports that the Reds had received trade interest in Feldman prior to that issue. His timetable for a return isn’t yet known. There’s technically time for him to be activated before the deadline if it proves to be short-term in nature, though one can imagine that most interested parties would prefer to see him make a start before moving forward with a trade. Buchanan also speculates on the possibility of a Tony Cingrani trade, noting that he’s pitching well and controlled for two more seasons, while Cincinnati has quite a few younger arms it’d like to take a look at in the ’pen.
The Royals are once again struggling, having dropped seven of their past 10 games, but ESPN’s Buster Olney hears that they’re not deviating from their course as deadline buyers. Kansas City has been hopeful of adding two “cost-efficient” starting pitchers and are also looking into adding a reliever. It’d take a total collapse between now and the deadline for the Royals to change course and sell off their impending free agents, Olney adds.
Olney also tweets that the Mets would improve their chances of finding a trade partner for Asdrubal Cabrera by playing him at third base. Rival evaluators are hopeful of seeing him at that position before making a determination, per Olney, and it now appears likely that the Mets will accommodate them. Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that Cabrera is set to begin taking grounders at the hot corner, and manager Terry Collins confirmed as much to Carig’s colleague, David Lennon (Twitter link).
The Mariners “appear willing” to trade outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill this summer, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The 22-year-old O’Neill entered the season ranked among the game’s 50 or so best prospects on several notable lists (Baseball America, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus) but got off to a poor start to the season in Triple-A. He’s recovered with a 1.127 OPS over his past 26 games to bring his batting line back up to a respectable .241/.326/.462, but Dutton notes that the emergence of Mitch Haniger and Ben Gamel has the M’s more open to a deal. Despite the presence of that duo, however, Seattle hasn’t shown an inclination to deal top organizational prospect Kyle Lewis.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes that the Dodgers and Astros have put themselves in such strong position that neither strongly needs to make a move prior to the trade deadline. However, both Dodgers president Andrew Friedman and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow are viewed as extremely opportunistic types and figure to look at ways to upgrade their roster anyhow. Crasnick classifies the Dodgers’ interest in Orioles closer Zach Britton as “legitimate” but notes that they’re a bit cautious due to his 2017 forearm issues. Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that L.A. is reluctant to part with prospects Alex Verdugo and Walker Buehler in trades, and Crasnick echoes that statement while also adding righty Yadier Alvarez to the list. While the three aren’t quite “untouchable,” none of the three seems especially likely to go. As for the Astros, they’ll continue looking for a starter that could join the playoff rotation behind Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers, though they, too, could look instead to a late-inning lefty like Britton or Detroit’s Justin Wilson.

Carlos Correa Out Six To Eight Weeks With Torn Thumb Ligament

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2017 at 12:50pm CDT

July 19: Correa announced today (via Instagram) that he’s undergone surgery to repair the ligament and that the operation was successful.

July 18,5:18pm: Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Gonzalez is likely to see the bulk of playing time at shortstop, though Bregman could play there on days when Gonzalez is needed elsewhere on the field. Gonzalez can play first base, second base and in the corner outfield as well. Regardless, that combination will likely allow the ’Stros to cover Correa’s absence for the next month and a half or so.

3:12pm: The Astros announced devastating injury news today, revealing that shortstop Carlos Correa is expected to miss the next six to eight weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb. Astros field reporter Julia Morales tweets that the injury will require surgery. Infielder Colin Moran has been recalled to replace Correa, who suffered the injury on a swing in last night’s game.

“Losing a player of Carlos’ caliber for an extended period is a big blow to our club, but I believe we have the roster to persevere and continue to win games,” said GM Jeff Luhnow in a press release announcing the news. “We do expect Carlos to return to the club in September and be ready to contribute down the stretch.”

That injury is the same ailment from which fellow AL West superstar Mike Trout just returned. Trout ultimately missed about six and a half weeks, although no two injuries are created equal, and we obviously don’t know if the extent of the tear is the same in each instance. But, that does serve as somewhat of a rough benchmark for Correa’s return to activity.

The Astros, meanwhile, will soldier on without one of the American League’s foremost MVP candidates for a significant stretch of time. On the plus side, Houston has a 15.5 game lead on the division, so the ’Stros aren’t really at risk of ceding the division to one of their rivals. Furthermore, Houston has a deep roster, with both Alex Bregman and Marwin Gonzalez capable of stepping in to play shortstop on a consistent basis. As such, a trade for someone such as Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart doesn’t seem particularly likely — especially not with Correa expected back well before season’s end.

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