Astros' Jose Altuve exits game with foot discomfort

The Astros removed veteran star Jose Altuve from their win over the Braves in the third inning today due to what the team has termed “right foot discomfort.” The specifics of Altuve’s ailment weren’t immediately clear, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) after the game that Altuve’s foot began bothering him after he ran the bases in the third inning, leading them to take him out of the game as a precaution.

Espada noted that Altuve is still being evaluated, but the update seems fairly encouraging. It goes without saying that losing Altuve for any amount of time would be a substantial blow to the Astros at a crucial point in the season. They have a measly half-game lead over the Mariners pending the outcome of tonight’s game in Seattle, and the Rangers lurk just two games behind them. While most division leaders have their spot in the postseason locked up at this point, the Astros actually have just an 80.0% chance to make it to October according to Fangraphs, aren’t even favored to win the AL West despite the marginal lead they’re clinging to.

Altuve will be crucial if the club is going to avoid getting overtaken in the postseason race, much less make an impact once they get to October. The longtime second baseman has begun playing some outfield this year due to the team’s lack of quality depth on the grass, although he’s largely split time between second base and DH in more recent weeks. Altuve has been slumping recently, with a .208/.276/.383 slash line n 38 games since the start of August. Those numbers aren’t exactly encouraging, but with a 112 wRC+ on the year and no below average performances since 2013 excepting the shortened 2020 season, Altuve is a relatively safe bet to bounce back if healthy.

The Astros will now need to weigh whether to have him play through the foot issue that’s currently ailing him, or to try and work in some extra rest for him (or even place him on the IL) despite the hotly-contested pennant race the Astros find themselves in. If Altuve does need some time off, the presence of deadline pickup Ramon Urias and longtime utilityman Mauricio Dubon as viable second base options should help to lessen the blow somewhat. Yordan Alvarez occupies the DH slot on most days at this point, leaving the outfield to some combination of Altuve, Dubon, Zach Cole, Taylor Trammell, Cam Smith, Jesus Sanchez, and Jake Meyers on any given day.

Meyers is the only true everyday player in that group, though Cole has gotten off to a hot start and could see regular playing time if he can keep the good times rolling. It seems likely that if Altuve is dealing with a nagging foot issue, the Astros will try to keep his time in the outfield to a minimum. That could mean a larger opportunity for Cole while Sanchez and Smith platoon in right field, leaving Taylor Trammell to spell Cole and see use primarily as a reserve player.

Things could get more complicated if the team makes a deep enough run in the postseason that Isaac Paredes manages to work his way back into the conversation, however. A hamstring injury that seemed as though it might be season-ending sidelined Paredes nearly two months ago, but he decided to forgo surgery in favor of rehabbing in hopes of returning for the postseason. While there’s still no timetable for his return, Espada told reporters (including Kawahara) that Paredes is taking live at-bats at the club’s Spring Training complex in West Palm Beach and has begun to run the bases. It’s not clear what intensity Paredes is currently running at, but Espada said the current plan is for him to simply continue ramping up his at-bats, running, and ground balls at third base in hopes of a return.

If Paredes were to return to action at some point this year, that would leave the Astros with a bit of a positional logjam. Paredes is capable of playing third base, first base, and DH. Carlos Correa and Christian Walker currently occupy the infield corners, however, meaning that Paredes would most likely have to push Alvarez and his lackluster glove into left field by taking up the DH role. If he’s healthy enough to play the field at some point this postseason, it’s at least plausible that the Astros could try Correa at second base with Altuve in left field to fit Paredes at first and keep Alvarez at DH, but there are plenty of problems with that plan. Correa has no experience at the keystone as a professional, for one, and given Altuve’s own lackluster defense in the outfield, it’s debatable how much of an upgrade he would even be over Alvarez.

That could leave Paredes limited to a bench/pinch hitting role in the playoffs if he returns and the Astros don’t want to risk using Alvarez in the outfield, though obviously that would be a great problem for Houston to have considering Paredes’s talent (he made the All-Star game and crushed 19 homers in just 94 games) and the fact that him becoming a factor would likely mean they made a fairly deep postseason run, given his uncertain timeline.