Houston Astros Get Important Injury Updates On Two Key Players

The Houston Astros have struggled to find consistent success this season and have flirted with a .500 record throughout the first third of the campaign.

Entering Saturday with a 26-25 record, Friday night brought some promising developments despite a loss to the American League West-leading Seattle Mariners.

The team has been without superstar slugger Yordan Alvarez since early May, and without young starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti since early April. Both players play big roles in the offense and the starting rotation, respectively, and before Friday's game, manager Joe Espada provided some promising updates on their paths back to the field.

Houston Astros Slugger Yordan Alvarez and Pitcher Spencer Arrighetti Progressing in Injury Rehabs

For Arrighetti, the pitcher is no longer in a cast for his broken thumb, but is now wearing a splint. The pitcher suffered the injury by being hit by a line drive while playing catch in the outfield during Mariners' batting practice in April.

Espada told reporters that Arrighetti is scheduled to see the doctor next week, and that he expects the pitcher to receive clearance to participate in baseball activities. With clearance, Espada relayed that Arrighetti can begin playing catch.

While the rotation has been serviceable in Arrighetti's absence, offensive success has been hard to find for the Astros without Alvarez. While he was on the field this year, even he was struggling at the plate, he told reporters earlier this week that he has been dealing with hand soreness throughout the season.

On Friday, Alvarez took part in a series of base-running drills after hitting off a pitching machine in the batting cages. It was another step forward for the slugger, who was doing just soft-toss and bullpen toss on Thursday.

"He wants to go in there and do it [hit off the machine] again just to see how it reacts after he's sitting for an hour...which is great," Espada said. "I'm very happy with where he is today. Once he tells us that he feels good, I think we could build him up here, but one day at a time, and health is number one. But the fact that he went out there today and did what he did is a good sign."

Getting Alvarez back on the field and fully healthy would be a major boon to an offense that has struggled mightily this year. The team has hit just 48 home runs through 51 games, 19th in MLB, and has an OPS of .703, 17th in MLB. Adding a healthy Alvarez back to the mix could improve both of those metrics in a big way.