Houston Astros Place Star Outfielder on Injured List With Broken Hand

The Houston Astros have lost one of the outfielders after he suffered a broken hand.

Aug 12, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick (20) scores a run against the Tampa Bay Rays in the third inning at Tropicana Field / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Coming down the final stretch of the year, the Houston Astros are hoping they can keep their clean bill of health they have enjoyed in recent months after being decimated at the beginning of the season that almost completely derailed things.

With Kyle Tucker back in the mix and working his way into form, this roster has plenty of pieces in place to make another deep playoff run and extend their MLB record of seven straight ALCS appearances.

Unfortunately, the injury issues reared its ugly head again for this team.

The Astros announced they have officially moved outfielder Chas McCormick to the 10-day injured list with a broken hand that was suffered when he ran into the right field wall when chasing down a fly ball on Tuesday.

The good news is they are describing it as a small hand fracture, so there is belief he will be back for Houston at some point during the year.

Upon the announcement of McCormick's IL news, they also made other roster moves.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES:

- IF Grae Kessinger and LHP Bryan King were recalled from Triple A Sugar Land.
- RHP Nick Hernandez was optioned to Triple A.
- OF Chas McCormick was placed on the 10-day IL with a small fracture in his right hand (retro to Sept. 11).

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 12, 2024

Not having McCormick as part of the mix affects their depth, but he also hasn't been able to produce at the plate like he did last season when he put up the best numbers of his career.

The 29-year-old posted a .273/.353/.489 slash line with 22 homers, 70 RBI and an OPS+ of 130 in 2023, looking like he could be a real piece of this outfield alongside Tucker and whoever they rotated in left and center.

But, his production has fallen off a cliff to a concerning level this campaign with a .211/.271/.306 slash line and OPS+ of 66.

It will be interesting to see what his timeline might look like and how the Astros factor him in when he is able to return from the injured list.