Houston Astros Superstar Still Hasn’t Resumed Baseball Activities
Tuesday night was a new low for the Houston Astros, falling 2-0 to the Chicago White Sox. Coming off a series win, the hope was for the Astros to take advantage of the worst team in baseball.
It's been a season filled with lows for this struggling squad, and if things don't change in the near future, it's tough to picture what the front office decides to do.
Getting healthy is the top priority moving forward. However, with Justin Verlander now hitting the IL and Kyle Tucker still out with a shin contusion, that doesn't look like it's going to be the case this year.
In prior campaigns, Houston has been able to stay afloat, even when they dealt with injuries. This time around, it's been too much to handle.
The latest update on Tucker isn't a great sign either, as first-year skipper Joe Espada told reporters that he hasn't resumed baseball activities.
“He’s doing better, just slower than we were expecting,” Espada said Tuesday, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.
"We were expecting him by today to just kind of start running around and moving around — he’s doing some of that but in the weight room. But he’s not able to do it out on a baseball field.”
With the lack of offense out of this lineup for parts of the season, Tucker needs to return as soon as possible to give them a chance.
The left-handed hitting outfielder has a real argument to be one of the top hitters in baseball, putting up another ridiculous year at the dish.
Tucker, 27-years-old, is slashing .266/.395/.584 with 19 home runs and an OPS+ of 178. If he continues to swing the bat the way he has, he'll finish with career highs. He hasn't played since June 3.
He's well on his way to earning his third straight All-Star nod.
But, this injury shows exactly what's gone wrong for the Astros this season. Even when things finally look like they're going to turn around, they lose one of their best players.
Espada hasn't given a timetable for a return just yet, and if this injury continues to take longer to heal, there's a chance that he'll have to play in a few rehab games.
Hopefully, that won't be the case, and he can return to action in the near future. Houston certainly needs it.
JON CONAHAN
Jon Conahan has been covering all major sports since 2019. He is a 2022 graduate of the Bellisario School of Journalism at Penn State University and previously played D1 baseball.