Houston Astros Superstar Takes Important Steps Toward Return
At one point, the Houston Astros were hopeful their All-Star outfielder, Kyle Tucker, would only need a few days to return after he fouled a baseball off his right shin on June 3.
That was close to a month ago.
Now, Tucker has been on the 10-day injured list long enough to be eligible to return. While the shin didn’t suffer serious damage, his progress has been slow. He required crutches early in his recovery to keep weight off the injury.
But on Wednesday, before the Astros beat the Colorado Rockies to get back to .500 for the first time this season, Tucker didmade progress.
Per MLB.com, the superstar hit 30 balls off a tee to test his right shin contusion. According to manager Joe Espada, Tucker will make the trip with Houston to face the New York Mets starting on Friday with the hope he can start ramping up baseball activities this weekend.
"I want to see him out here in the outfield grass, moving, running," Espada said. "We're not there yet, but we're getting close to that."
Tucker is the third leading vote-getter in the outfield in American League All-Star Game voting, which ends at 11 a.m. central on Thursday. Right now, he would advance to the second phase of voting, which would determine the starting lineup.
If New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge remains the AL’s top overall vote-getter, he’ll get an automatic berth in the starting lineup. That means that Tucker would be competing with five outfielders for the final two starting spots.
Tucker has been an All-Star each of the last two years, and his numbers this season would probably put him on the team, whether it’s as a starter or as a reserve.
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, Juan 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.
He is under team control through the 2025 season and a contract extension doesn’t seem likely until after the season. Houston and Tucker have tried twice and not reached an agreement on a long-term deal.
MATTHEW POSTINS
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.