The injury bug has literally bite one of the Astros’ outfielders. Literally.
Injuries are no fun in baseball or in any walk of life. Unfortunately for Astros‘ outfielder Josh Reddick, he will have to spend some quality time on the 10-day DL. Thanks to a possible spider bite.
*Author’s best Chris Traeger impression from the NBC show Parks and Recreation*
“Yes, the injury bug has literally bit Reddick.”
Wait, should spiders be classified as bugs? Or not?
Oh, well, this is a baseball blog so who cares.
Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, Reddick thinks his sudden leg injury is related to a possible spider bite. Or it could be a ingrown hair?
"It has not been confirmed what caused the infection, but Reddick has narrowed it down to either a spider bite or ingrown hair."
Regardless of the source, the infection has placed Reddick on the 10-day DL. The Astros’ outfielder has already missed some playing time on-and-off throughout the weekend. Following Monday’s off-day, Reddick wasn’t in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Giants in Houston.
In the meantime, the Astros have recalled Jake Marisnick from the Fresno Grizzlies, the team’s Triple-A affiliate.
As you may recall, Marisnick has had a rough start to his 2018 season with a 12 wRC+ in 87 plate appearances. In fact, the age-27 outfielder has a ridiculous strikeout-to-walk rate of 41-to-1. Yes, 41 strikeouts to just one walk. However, Marisnick started to rediscover a more consistent swing with Fresno as he hit .286/.348/.667 with two home runs in 23 plate appearances.
Next: Astros Series Preview: The Giants are in town
With Reddick now sidelined, the Astros’ outfield will primarily be composed of George Springer, Tony Kemp, J.D. Davis, Marwin Gonzalez, and Marisnick. Outside of Springer, the outfield alignment will likely be dictated by pitching matchups. That said, Kemp has made a strong impression on his latest stint in the majors and he will likely play on a nearly-daily basis until further notice.
**Statistics and information courtesy of MLB.com and FanGraphs**