Jose Altuve will be sidelined for an “indefinite” period of time after it was confirmed that he suffered a fractured right thumb Saturday at the World Baseball Classic.
Astros GM Dana Brown announced that the star 2nd baseman will require surgery after a 96mph fastball from Rockies reliever Daniel Bard struck him in the hand. The procedure is scheduled to take place in the next week, after which the club will announce a more definitive timeline for his recovery.
“It appears it could be a while,” Astros manager Dusty Baker told the press on Sunday. Altuve joins a growing list of Houston starters who are off to rocky starts during Spring Training on the injury front.
Already on the mend is outfielder Yordan Alvarez who is currently nursing a hand injury of his own. Meanwhile, DH Michael Brantley continues to recover from shoulder surgery which ended his 2022 season prematurely, making him a longshot to be ready for Opening Day.
Altuve slashed .300/.387/.533 with 39 doubles and 28 home runs in 2022 as he helped power the Astros to their 2nd World Series title in franchise history. The soon to be 33 year old ranked fifth amongst all qualified hitters last season with a .921 OPS mark on the year.
While Houston may be inclined to dip into whatever remains of the free agent market to help shore up their infield, their in house options feature utility men David Hensley and Mauricio Dubon as possible stop gaps in the interim.
Altuve is now the 2nd high profile player to be injured at the WBC in recent days following Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s patellar tendon tear a few days prior. Diaz’s injury sparked a firestorm of debate around whether MLB should be sending players to the WBC in the first place amongst talking heads.
The sentiment, which a small portion of baseball fans latched on to, doesn’t appear to be one shared by the players however, as several notable stars have gone on record about how they actually value a WBC title over a World Series title in the aftermath of Diaz’s injury.
The New York Post is currently reporting that Altuve’s injury could cost him two months of MLB action, though the Astros have yet to confirm any expected return to play date.
The World Series champions are scheduled to kick off their 2023 campaign on Thursday, March 30th vs. the Chicago White Sox.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Jeffrey Hayes. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.