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Will Jake Marisnick Go on DL Instead Altuve for Astros?

By Eric Huysman

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In Wednesday’s game, Jose Altuve came up a little lame running to first base, after nursing a sore hamstring for a few days. Altuve left the game, which led me to write What is Plan B for Astros if Jose Altuve Needs DL Stint? In that post, I wrote that should Altuve need to go on the DL, the Astros should bring up Tony Kemp. The Astros were adamant that they did not want to lose Altuve for two weeks so they would wait him out for now. The only problem with this that the Astros will have only two players available on the bench for the Seattle Mariners series, but they have played shorthanded before.

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Let’s hope the other players are staying health, Colby Rasmus will be activated from the bereavement list on Friday, and Domingo Santana would be going back to Triple-A. Everything was working out right for the Astros, who were on the way to winning their fifth straight game in a row. Then Jake Marisnick, who homered earlier in the game, hit a groundball and mid stride to first base came up lame. While it may be a minor injury, the Astros can not have two players on the team nursing hamstring injuries.

That would leave Hank Conger or Jason Castro as the only guy available off the bench in the first game of the Seattle series. While the Astros have played shorthanded before, this will be going to the extreme. They seem hesitant to put Altuve on the DL, but they might be a little more willing to DL Marisnick instead. In Evan Drellich’s tweet above, you can see that he also believes that they Astros will have to make some type of move.Here is a quote from Evan Drellich’s article titled

Here is a quote from Evan Drellich’s article titled Jake Marisnick exits Thursday’s win over Rockies with hamstring issue. “I felt a little something in there. I guess we’ll see how it feels tomorrow and go from there,” Marisnick said. “I’m not sure (how bad it is). I definitely felt it. I have ice on it now so I can’t really feel much.”

Feb 26, 2015; Kissimmee, FL, USA; Houston Astros outfielder Domingo Santana poses for a picture during photo day at Osceola County Stadium Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Astros would then keep Domingo Santana on the 25-man roster and activate Rasmus off the bereavement list. Marisnick’s game, like Altuve’s, is based on his speed. Marisnick would be placed on the DL to give his hamstring time to rest. I just hope Santana isn’t already on a flight back to Fresno when the Astros decide what to do. It also would not be a good idea to send Santana down right now with the success he has had in this recent MLB experience. Last year Santana went hitless in 17 at-bats, striking out 14 times.

In his 2015 Astros debut on Tuesday, Santana got his first hit and run-batted-in at the same time. In yesterday’s game, he had a crucial three-run homer off the bench to give the Astros the bigger lead. The Astros need him to continue to succeed so they can see what they have with him before deciding to trade him away.

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While Marisnick is on the DL, if it happens, Colby Rasmus and George Springer will patrol center field. Domingo Santana will get spot starts or become the regular right fielder with Springer switching to center field. Once again the Astros find themselves with an obstacle in front of them, but they always seem to find a way around it. This could lead to Santana adding to an already powerful offense.

Marisnick could really be okay, and all this will be for not. But as the Astros learned last year with George Springer, hamstring injuries are no jokes. Tomorrow will be a busy day for Jeff Luhnow and company, can’t wait for their decision.

Next: Houston Astros rally to complete sweep of Colorado Rockies

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