Though Jake Meyers was included on the Astros’ ALCS roster, he has yet to return to action since suffering a shoulder injury in Game 4 of the ALDS. Fresh doubt has now been cast on Meyers’ status for the rest of the series and perhaps the rest of the postseason. Houston manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that Meyers suffered a setback and “was actually worse” health-wise Tuesday following a few days of seemingly progressing toward a return.
Meyers made a leaping attempt at a Gavin Sheets home run in the second inning of the Astros’ ALDS clincher against the White Sox, and after colliding with the wall, he left the field with obvious discomfort in his left arm. The Astros felt good enough about Meyers’ condition to put him on the ALCS roster, except since his shoulder problem was a pre-existing injury, Baker noted that the team now isn’t allowed to replace Meyers for the remainder of this series with the Red Sox.
Removing a player mid-playoff series due to injury means that player is ineligible for the following round, though even if Houston advances past Boston to reach the World Series, it would seem like Meyers might not be an option for the Fall Classic roster. In the interim, Baker may have one less position player at his disposal for the rest of the ALCS.
The center field tandem of Meyers and Chas McCormick was a boon for the Astros in the regular season, as the two rookies delivered very strong defense and solid (107 OPS+) offense after Myles Straw was dealt to the Indians at the trade deadline. Jose Siri, another rookie, has assumed Meyers’ part-time duties, starting in center field both in Game 3 of the ALCS and in Wednesday’s Game 5. To his credit, Siri also hit well over the first 49 plate appearances of his big league career, and Meyers’ sample size (163 PA in the majors) isn’t much larger.
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