Houston Astros Shutting Down Two Players 'For a While' With Concerning Injuries

The Houston Astros will be without two players during camp after they have been shut down because of injury.

Sep 25, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Shawn Dubin (66) walks to the dugout after retiring the side against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros were hoping to have much better injury luck this season compared to last.

Early during the 2024 campaign, they were completely derailed by the number of impact players who were placed on the shelf, something that almost ended their streak of consecutive AL West titles.

They were able to overcome it because of how much high-end talent they had on their roster.

They don't have that luxury this year.

It was an offseason of change for the Astros, letting Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander walk in free agency, while also deciding to trade away Kyle Tucker to get something back before he hit the open market next winter.

The return they got for their star right fielder brought back some players who will help them win now and in the future, but there is much less room for error this year in Houston than they have had in the past.

That's why this news isn't a great sign.

Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, manager Joe Espada said Pedro Leon and Shawn Dubin are going to be "shut down for a while."

Leon's knee issue was described as discomfort originally, something that seemed mild. But after further testing and evaluation, he has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 MCL strain. The recovery timeline for that is around one to three weeks, however, it will take longer for him to be baseball ready since he'll have to ramp up again later in March.

Dubin had to undergo an MRI because of some shoulder pain he was feeling, and the results revealed "shoulder inflammation." That's better than the alternative, but it's also not a great time for pitchers to be dealing with something that prevents them from preparing for the start of the season.

Not having these two is not a major blow for the Astros, but it still hurts.

Leon was in the mix for an outfield role since that unit is the weakest they have on paper and might need as many options as possible during the long campaign.

Dubin was expected to be a key contributor out of the bullpen, but he's not a star of that group.

Still, this is not what Houston wanted during the spring with an already thin margin of error before factoring in potential injuries like these two that just occurred.

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