Houston Astros Slugger Express Frustration with Injury Progress

Kyle Tucker is trying to be patient, but with the Houston Astros turning things around he wants to be a part of it.

Jun 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Minnesota Twins during the third inning at Minute Maid Park. / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Tucker was in Queens, N.Y., on Friday, watching the Houston Astros face the New York Mets.

He watched the Astros lose, and right now, that’s all he can do.

During pre-game on Friday Tucker repeated his rehab regimen for his right shin contusion, which he suffered earlier this month. He hit 35 balls off a tee and ran on a treadmill.

On Wednesday in Houston, he hit 30 balls off a tee. So that’s a little progress.

But it’s also clear he’s frustrated with the progress he’s made from an injury that the Astros were hopeful, at first, wouldn’t even lead to a stint on the injured list.

“I never really had that big jump forward that we hoped for," he said to MLB.com. "You can't do much about it. ... Hopefully, I can get out there soon.”

Tucker said he’s done everything possible to get back on the field. At this point, he’s at the mercy of his body’s ability to recover.

Tucker suffered the injury on June 3 when he fouled a baseball off the shin. He didn’t suffer serious damage, per the Astros. But a few days later he needed crutches to help keep weight off the injury and Houston put him on the 10-day injured list.

Astros manager Joe Espada hopes to see Tucker doing more soon.

The injury hasn’t slowed Tucker’s chances of reaching the All-Star Game for the third straight year. He advanced out of phase one voting to put himself in contention for one of the two remaining starting spots in the outfield.

With the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge having already clinched a berth in the starting lineup, Tucker will compete with the Yankees’ Juan Soto, Cleveland’s Steven Kwan and Baltimore’s Anthony Santander in phase two voting that starts on Sunday. He’ll find out on Wednesday if he made the starting lineup.

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.

It’s shaping up to be another season that puts Tucker in the mix for AL Most Valuable Player. The Astros’ first-round pick out of Tampa, Fla., in 2015 has been in the Top 20 of MVP voting each of the past three seasons. He had his best finish in 2023 when he finished fifth. Shohei Ohtani won the award.