Houston Astros Get Positive Injury Updates on Important Players

Things seem to be progressing well for two of the Houston Astros injured players.

May 29, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros starter Justin Verlander (35) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros have stormed back over the last two months to enter their last contest before the All-Star break five games above .500, one out of the AL West lead and 2.5 back from the final Wild Card spot.

The turnaround has been remarkable.

After looking like they would be the most disappointing team in baseball if they continued to falter and miss the playoffs, the Astros have flashed their championship pedigree and are looking like a group who will compete for yet another World Series title.

All of this has occurred while dealing with multiple injuries.

Kyle Tucker and Justin Verlander are on the short-term injured list and three of their starting pitchers from Opening Day are out for the year. Multiple players have been cycled in and out of this roster, making it difficult for anyone to develop a rhythm.

Houston found a spark to get themselves on track, though, and it sounds like they could be getting some major reinforcements soon.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported an update regarding the recovery of Verlander as he was moved to the stage where he threw off a mound, and even though it was a limited number of pitches, that's a great sign that he's inching his way back from his neck injury.

The Astros' team injury page reported that backup catcher Victor Caratini has been sent to their Florida complex where they will get him back on the bases and "go from there." His left hip flexor strain was suffered on June 19 and he's been sidelined ever since.

The expectation is that both players will be back shortly after the All-Star break.

That's great news for Houston who needs as many contributing players healthy and in the mix before the trade deadline so the front office can see what areas they truly need to upgrade.

Verlander will give this rotation a boost if he is able to return to his past form following this nick issue. Caratini was brought in to be a solid veteran backstop behind Yainer Diaz, and he has lived up to that billing with a slash line of .248/.287/.429 and OPS+ of 101. He's also hit four homers and driven in 17 runs during his limited 39 games of work while producing a defensive bWAR of 0.4.

Once these two are back, the Astros will have a roster much closer to the one many expected to be contending for a championship this season after fighting to get back in the mix before the halfway point of the year.