Houston Astros Boss 'Pleased' With Injured Slugger's Workout

The Houston Astros may have gotten some good news on the progress of their All-Star outfielder on Monday.

Jun 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Kyle Tucker (30) hits a single against the Minnesota Twins during the third inning at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros arrived to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in the hopes of winning their sixth straight game.

Kyle Tucker was there, too.

No, he didn’t play, but what he did do was not something to be overlooked.

Per The Athletic, which observed Tucker’s on-field workout, he did considerably more than he had done in recent workouts as he tries to return from a right shin contusion.

The three-time All-Star’s workout included taking fly balls in left field, jogging, explosive movements from side-to-side and in short distances, along with crow-hop throws.

The report indicated this was more field work than Tucker had done at any point since he was placed on the 10-day injured list in June.

Late last week, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that Tucker needed to clear a significant benchmark before the organization could even entertain a timeline for a rehab assignment and his return.

Now?

Well, Espada was quite pleased with what he saw, per The Athletic.

"I think he's turning the corner," Espada said. Now it's time we have to improve from what we saw today — being able to do more of that without him feeling (soreness in) the area. I think today was a good day."

This workout probably didn’t reach that standard, but it got Tucker significantly closer.

Houston has been one of the hottest teams in baseball the past two months without Tucker, who was tracking as an American League MVP candidate before the injury. His return could help push the Astros to an AL West title once again, which appears to be a necessity as a Wild Card berth out of the West is unlikely this year.

He suffered the injury on June 3 when he fouled a baseball off his shin.

At the time, Houston was hopeful Tucker wouldn’t even have to go on the injured list. But a few days later, he needed crutches to help keep weight off the injury, forcing the Astros put him on the 10-day IL.

Since then, his recovery has been slow by any standard.

For instance, when Tucker was named an All-Star reserve for the third straight year he didn’t travel to the game, which was at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He wanted to continue his injury rehab.

Before Monday, he had done some baseball activities, including playing catch and hitting in the cage, along with non-baseball activities like running on a treadmill.

When the 27-year-old right fielder went on the IL he was slashing .266/.395/.584/.979 with 19 home runs and 40 RBI. At the time his .979 OPS was fourth in the Majors behind Judge, Soto and Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna. He was second in the AL with 46 walks and third with a .584 slugging percentage. He also had more walks than strikeouts (41) at the plate.