Astros Superstar Yordan Alvarez Suffers Injury Setback, Gets Shut Down

The Houston Astros continue to get rocked with injuries.

Already without multiple starting pitchers, Jeremy Pena became the latest star to hit the injured list, joining Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, J.P France, Spencer Arrighetti and Cristian Javier as impact players currently on the shelf who could return at some point this year.

It seemed like Alvarez was trending in the right direction for a potential return before the All-Star break based on what general manager Dana Brown said. However, that is no longer the case.

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the superstar slugger suffered a setback in West Palm Beach after feeling hand soreness following taking swings on Monday. He has now been shut down and will see a specialist in the next 48 hours.

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That is not what anyone wanted to hear.

Alvarez is the best hitter on this team, and while the Astros have done a great job of surviving without him in the mix, to actually win a championship, they need him back in the lineup.

This latest setback puts that in question.

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At first, Alvarez was diagnosed with having just a muscle strain in his right hand before subsequent testing revealed he actually had a fracture.

Houston is hoping to learn more after Alvarez sees the specialist.

Before being placed on the injured list on May 5, it hadn't been a banner year for the lefty.

In 29 games, he was slashing just .210/.306/.340 with three homers and 18 RBI, easily the worst numbers of his career.

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There's no reason to believe he wouldn't have turned things around eventually based on the numbers he has put up throughout his time in The Show, especially if he was able to recover from this hand injury that seems to have been hindering him.

However, following this latest setback, it's hard to predict exactly when or even if Alvarez is going to play for the Astros again this season.

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