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Yordan Alvarez

Astros Transfer Lance McCullers Jr. To 60-Day Injured List

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The Astros transferred starter Lance McCullers Jr. from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list this evening, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for slugging outfielder Yordan Álvarez, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 IL. Infielder Joe Perez was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to clear an active roster spot for Álvarez.

The move rules McCullers out for 60 days from the date of his original IL placement, April 4. He’ll be eligible to return to the big leagues during the first week of June, but he could begin a minor league rehab assignment before then if he’s healthy enough to do so. In either event, it’s clear the team didn’t anticipate McCullers being ready to contribute in the majors any time soon.

He continues to work his way back from a flexor tendon strain in his forearm, which he suffered during last year’s postseason. While it was initially believed he’d be ready for Opening Day — if not perhaps able to pitch through the injury during the 2021 World Series — McCullers admitted over the winter that he’d not healed as quickly as expected. The 28-year-old partially attributed his lack of progress to the lockout, which kept players on the 40-man roster from communicating with team medical personnel between the start of December and the second week of March.

McCullers fortunately had at least progressed to playing catch by last week, but it’s clear he’ll need some time to build up arm strength. He’ll require a throwing program before he’s able to embark on a rehab assignment, and he’ll surely need a couple starts to log some innings in the minors before returning to the big league rotation. There’s little question Houston will be cautious with their prized right-hander, who finished seventh in AL Cy Young balloting last season and is in the first season of a five-year, $85MM contract.

Houston has opened the season with a starting five of Framber Valdez, Jake Odorizzi, José Urquidy, Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia. Even without McCullers, that’s one of the league’s stronger quintets. Cristian Javier is working in relief but appears to be the top depth option. He’s coming off a promising 2021 and has tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts so far this year.

Álvarez, meanwhile, is now in position to return to the lineup for the first time in a week. He has missed the past five games battling what manager Dusty Baker had called a stomach bug. Baker suggested last week he might ease Álvarez back into action, but he’ll reclaim his spot as a middle-of-the-order presence in Houston fairly shortly.

Astros Place Yordan Alvarez On Injured List

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6:20pm: Álvarez has not tested positive, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). He has traveled with the team to Seattle and could soon be activated, although Baker added he’d give Álvarez a couple days to get back into game shape before penciling him into the lineup.

5:45pm: The Astros have placed star outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Álvarez on the COVID-19 injured list, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. It isn’t clear whether Álvarez tested positive or is simply experiencing virus-like symptoms. Corner infielder Joe Perez has been recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his spot on the active roster.

Álvarez hasn’t played since Sunday. He missed the Astros’ two-game set in Arizona this week with an illness that manager Dusty Baker characterized as a stomach bug. He’ll obviously miss tonight’s game against the Mariners at the very least, with the extent of his absence depending on whether he’s tested positive.

Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). If Álvarez is “merely” dealing with symptoms, he could return in shorter order. Players who test negative can return once their symptoms dissipate, so long as they’re cleared by the joint committee and the team doctor.

Álvarez, of course, is one of the game’s best offensive players. The 24-year-old slugger is coming off a .277/.346/.531 showing with 33 home runs in 598 plate appearances. He hasn’t gotten off to a great start this year, collecting two hits and three walks in 17 trips to the dish over four games.

AL West Notes: Calhoun, Yordan, Murphy

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Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun missed nearly three months of the 2021 season after suffering a broken arm upon being hit by a pitch, but he’s expected to return to the lineup this week, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The club has 18 games left to get a look at Calhoun before determining whether to tender him a contract in arbitration this winter, and manager Chris Woodward offered no certainties when discussing Calhoun’s future. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t played enough for us to really evaluate him,” Woodward said (via Grant). “So, we may have to make a really tough decision one way or the other. We’re going to have to kind of go out on a limb.”

Calhoun, 27 this offseason, was the headlining prospect the Rangers received from the Dodgers in 2017’s Yu Darvish trade. He’s yet to establish himself as a consistently productive hitter, however, and was batting a rather pedestrian .254/.323/.385 in 226 plate appearances before heading to the injured list. Calhoun’s lack of playing time and career .248/.304/.418 batting line to date will limit his arbitration price. That, coupled with the fact that he has a minor league option remaining in 2022, could be a saving grace. So long as the Rangers don’t mind carrying him on the 40-man roster, there’s little downside in tendering him a contract, but Woodward’s mention of a “tough decision” appears to indicate that there’s at least some debate on how to proceed.

Some more notes from the division…

  • Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is getting increased defensive reps in at first base and could begin seeing time there in games, manager Dusty Baker told reporters this week (link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Alvarez, 24, played some first base in the minors but hasn’t appeared there in the Majors yet. He’s only played 317 innings of defense since debuting in 2019 — all of which have come in left field. The ’Stros have Yuli Gurriel as their everyday option at first base, and his $8MM club option for the 2022 season is a no-brainer to be exercised after a terrific 2021 season. Still, getting Alvarez some work at first would provide a safety net should Gurriel need to miss time and would also give the Astros an option on days where they hope to rest Gurriel, who’ll turn 38 next June. Looking beyond the ’22 campaign, at which point Gurriel will be a free agent, it’d obviously be a bonus if the ’Stros felt comfortable playing Alvarez at first base on at least a part-time basis. Given the knee troubles he’s already had in his career, Alvarez might not be a full-time option either in left field or at first base for Houston, but the more ways they have to keep him and his outstanding career .293/.375/.584 batting line (906 plate appearances) in the lineup, the better.
  • Mariners catcher Tom Murphy chatted with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times about his rebound from an awful start to the year — a stretch he called “the lowest point in my baseball career.” Murphy’s roster spot looked to be in jeopardy at one point, but he’s rebounded since mid-May, hitting .236/.346/.408 with eight homers in his past 208 trips to the plate. His season line still rests at an ugly .205/.304/.373, but that’s weighed down by those first six weeks. Murphy didn’t play in 2020 after fouling a ball into his foot and suffering a fracture during Mariners “Summer Camp,” so the slow start after such a long layoff is somewhat understandable. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for a second time this winter, giving the Mariners three potential options behind the dish alongside Luis Torrens and prospect Cal Raleigh. Had Murphy’s struggles continued, he’d have been a clear non-tender candidate. That possibility can’t be expressly ruled out even with the rebound, but the forthcoming raise on his modest $875K salary figures to be relatively minimal. Murphy hit .273/.324/.535 in 281 plate appearances with the Mariners back in 2019.

Astros Injury Notes: Urquidy, Taylor, Gurriel, Alvarez, McCullers

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The Astros’ long list of injured pitchers will get a bit shorter today, as Jose Urquidy and Blake Taylor have both been activated from the 10-day injured list.  Urquidy will get the start in today’s game against the Red Sox.  Right-handers Andre Scrubb and Ralph Garza were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Urquidy and Taylor on the active roster.

Urquidy hit the IL on May 16 due to right shoulder discomfort, though that potentially ominous-sounding diagnosis wasn’t considered too serious.  The right-hander will indeed return in pretty short order, and he’ll look to continue what has thus far been a solid 2021 season.  Urquidy has a 3.22 ERA and a very strong 5.1% walk rate over 44 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics (such as a 4.58 SIERA) haven’t been as impressed with his work.  Urquidy has both a low strikeout rate (18.6%) and grounder rate (28.5%), and he has been relying on a lot of soft contact and some batted-ball luck (.242 BABIP) to retire batters.

Taylor has been out of action since suffering a right ankle sprain on April 17, and he has been on a Triple-A rehab assignment since last week.  Taylor made his MLB debut last season, and he has a 3.12 ERA, 18.4% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate over 26 total innings in the big leagues.  With Kent Emanuel still on the IL, Brooks Raley has been the only other left-hander in Houston’s bullpen, so Taylor’s return will add some depth in that area.

The lineup will continue to be shorthanded, however, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) that neither Yuli Gurriel or Yordan Alvarez are available for today’s game, though both are “close” to returning.  Alvarez appears to be the nearest of the two, though Baker said he “nixed” the idea of Alvarez in the lineup in order to give the young slugger another day of recovery.

This will make it five games missed for Alvarez due to a wrist problem, while Gurriel is now on track to miss his third game due to inflammation in his left middle finger.  Baker did say Gurriel would return at some point during Houston’s four-game series with the Red Sox that begins today.

“It’s a situation where they’re not hurt badly enough where you can put them on ten days and lose them, so you’d rather wait two or three days extra and not lose them for ten,” Baker said.

The Astros still scored 15 runs in the two games without Gurriel and Alvarez in the lineup, though naturally the team would like to have two of its best hitters back as soon as possible.  Both players have hit seven home runs this season, with Gurriel hitting .309/.380/.511 in 205 PA and Alvarez hitting .310/.343/.525 over 169 PA.

Baker also told McTaggart and company that he is hopeful Lance McCullers Jr. can be back in the rotation by the “middle of June.”  McCullers was placed on the 10-day IL on May 26 due to right shoulder soreness but, like Urquidy, the issue as thought to be pretty minor.  McCullers is playing catch in the outfield today, Baker said.  Over 51 2/3 innings this season, McCullers has a 2.96 ERA/4.02 SIERA, despite allowing a lot of hard contact.

Yordan Alvarez To Return Friday

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APRIL 30: Alvarez is back in the Astros’ lineup Friday, McTaggart tweets. The team optioned Jones to its taxi squad.

APRIL 29: The Astros expect Alvarez to rejoin their lineup Friday against the Rays, Baker told McTaggart and other reporters.

APRIL 28: The Astros have placed slugger Yordan Alvarez on the injured list and recalled infielder/outfielder Taylor Jones, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to report.

The Astros didn’t provide a reason for Alvarez’s IL placement, though it seems to be related to COVID-19. Manager Dusty Baker said earlier Wednesday that Alvarez would miss the team’s game against the Mariners because of “health and safety reasons,” Brian McTaggart of MLB.com relayed.

Alvarez was one of five Astros placed on the COVID-related IL on April 14, but he returned within a week. When he has been healthy enough to play this season, the designated hitter and former American League Rookie of the Year has continued to hold his own with a .309/.355/.529 line and two home runs in 76 plate appearances.

COVID Notes: 4/19/21

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The latest on coronavirus-related situations around baseball…

  • The Astros plan to reinstate Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Martin Maldonado, and Robel Garcia from the COVID-19 list prior to tomorrow’s game against the Rockies, Mark Berman of FOX 26 reports (Twitter link).  It isn’t yet guaranteed that any of the four will be activated from the COVID-IL, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes that “there are still some hurdles to clear once they’re in Colorado concerning intake testing.”  Jose Altuve is the one player remaining on Houston’s COVID list, and Berman says the second baseman isn’t yet ready to return, though Altuve and the other four players were all cleared for individual workouts yesterday.

COVID Notes: 4/18/21

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The latest on the coronavirus:

Latest Updates

Earlier Notes

  • Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernández was reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 on April 13. Fortunately, Hernández is no longer feeling symptoms of the virus, reports Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). He’ll have to remain in quarantine for ten days from the time of his positive test under the league’s 2021 health and safety protocols. That he’s currently asymptomatic is obviously good news for Hernández personally and seems to bode well for his chances of returning to play in relatively short order once his mandatory quarantine is up.
  • Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull has been in the health and safety protocols for almost a month, having first been placed on the COVID-19 injured list on March 20. He has been building back arm strength in recent days, though, and manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News) Turnbull could return to action early next week. It’s possible the Tigers will pivot to a six-man rotation at that point, adding Turnbull to a group currently consisting of Matthew Boyd, Michael Fulmer, José Ureña, Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Hinch said the organization hasn’t yet made that decision. If the Tigers were to go back to a five-man starting staff, Fulmer (who began the season in relief) or Ureña (who has struggled over three starts) would seem the most likely options to be bumped to the bullpen to make room for Turnbull. [UPDATE: Turnbull will start on Wednesday against the Pirates, per Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter link).]

COVID Notes: 4/16/21

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Friday’s coronavirus-related updates from the majors:

  • The Astros placed second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, catcher Martin Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia on the COVID injured list Wednesday. They’re unlikely to return for the team’s five-game road trip, manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters. The Astros begin a three-game series in Seattle on Friday, and they’re scheduled to play in Colorado next Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • The White Sox announced that they have reinstated right-hander Dylan Cease from the COVID IL and optioned righty Zack Burdi to their alternate site. Cease was only on the list for two days, but he’s already set to return after “a series of negative tests,” the team stated. He’ll make his third start of the season Saturday against the Red Sox. Cease logged a 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and six walks over 9 1/3 innings in his first two appearances.
  • Twins manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that he received a false positive test on Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. He isolated in his office and was then cleared after three or four more tests. The Twins aren’t out of the woods yet, though, as Baldelli said (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that they’ve had “further COVID-related issues in the clubhouse” on Friday. He couldn’t offer further details.
  • The Phillies with go without three members of manager Joe Girardi’s staff because of COVID protocols, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Hitting coach Joe Dillon, third base coach Dusty Wathan and bullpen coach Dave Lundquist are all away from the team. First base coach Paco Figueroa will move across the diamond to third, and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham will take over at first, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Astros Place 5 On Injured List

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The Astros’ offense is taking a sizable hit, as the team announced Wednesday that designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, third baseman Alex Bregman, second baseman Jose Altuve, catcher Martin Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia are all going to the injured list. The team made the moves due to health and safety protocols, according to Astros general manager James Click, who doesn’t expect their game against the Tigers on Wednesday to be postponed, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.

Houston’s losing four regulars in Alvarez, Bregman, Altuve and Maldonado. The first three have been vital members of the Astros’ offense for multiple seasons, and all three have gotten off to strong starts this year. Maldonado isn’t nearly as effective at the plate, though the Astros like his defense enough that they had been finalizing a one-year extension with him as of Tuesday.

With such a large chunk of their position player group down, the Astros are bringing up infielders Abraham Toro, Alex De Goti and Taylor Jones, catcher Garrett Stubbs, and outfielder Ronnie Dawson. De Goti and Dawson weren’t on the Astros’ 40-man roster, so their contracts had to be selected.

Astros Notes: Bregman, Álvarez, Greinke, Javier

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The Houston Astros will enter 2021 more vulnerable than ever atop the American League West. And yet, they remain atop the division. Or do they? Yesterday, our own Mark Polishuk asked MLBTR readers to predict the division winner, and so far, the Astros have fallen from their perch. Readers are currently projecting the A’s to win the division – though the Astros aren’t far behind.

Astros’ fever may spike as their stars return to health. Alex Bregman and Yordan Álvarez will both make their Grapefruit League debut on Tuesday, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter), which should provide a lift for manager Dusty Baker and company. Álvarez will be closely monitored for most of the season after offseason knee surgery. He’ll be limited to designated hitter duties in 2021. His bat, of course, can be a real difference maker. The 23-year-old owns an absurd .343 ISO though 378 plate appearances.

Bregman’s return to the lineup is no less crucial. Though he was the last arriving of the Astros’ original position player core, he’s grown into the best performer of the bunch. Back-to-back MVP-consideration seasons have launched Bregman into the first tier of MLB superstar. Especially with a roster that’s thinner that in year’s past, the Astros will need Bregman to ramp up to regular season form quickly.

When the season does open, it will be Zack Greinke on the hill. To no one’s surprise, Baker named Greinke their opening day starter, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Though he was a rotation luxury behind Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander when he was acquired, Greinke has grown in importance over the past year and a half, not only on the hill, but in the clubhouse and in front of reporters as well. The veteran has a 3.54 ERA/3.02 FIP in 129 2/3 innings over two seasons since joining the Astros.

Elsewhere in the rotation, the Astros are already without Framber Valdez, and his replacement Jake Odorizzi won’t be ready by opening day. Cristian Javier, however, say he will be ready to go, per Sports Director at Fox 26 Mark Berman (via Twitter).

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