Astros: Injury updates on Altuve, Springer, Diaz, and McHugh

Astros’ stars Jose Altuve and George Springer are on the mend, Aledmys Diaz has a setback and Collin McHugh is hard at work, as they all strive to return.

To put it mildly, the Astros have gone through a rough patch in recent weeks, when it comes to injuries. Counting Joe Smith, who started the season recovering from an Achilles injury, there are currently seven players on the 10-day Injury List. It’s hard on a team when you have stars like Carlos Correa, Altuve and Springer, who are major keys to the success of this team, sitting in the dugout.

Although the Astros have done exceedingly well with all of these players out due to injuries, you still want to see them back in the lineup going into the heart of the season, not to mention post season. It’s looking like a few of them may be well on their way back.

Altuve has been out for over a month now, due to a setback he experienced while he was in his rehab assignment with Round Rock. He’s been running the bases and participating in batting practice and claims to be at full speed. He actually says he feels better than he has in a long time and according to Brian McTaggert of MLB.com, A.J. Hinch has also been pleased with his progress.

“He’s working at full speed,” Hinch said. “He’s doing things that, quite honestly, he hasn’t done dating back to pre-injury last season when it comes to some of the techniques and fundamentals and things that he’s able to do with this lower half. That’s exciting.”

If everything goes well these next couple of days, they may start his rehab assignment as soon as this weekend. They’re taking it slow and sure so there won’t be any issues this time, and he can get back into the lineup with the confidence he needs.

Springer is also coming along nicely and got in some batting practice and running yesterday. He’ll continue to ramp up his routine this week and if the progress continues at this pace, he could see getting in some rehab games soon after Altuve.

Max Stassi has been down in Florida working with Joe Smith as they both rehab at the Spring Training facility. Stassi, who’s been out since May 26, is expected to begin his rehab assignment tomorrow with the Express.

McHugh has been throwing and had a bullpen session yesterday, apparently holding nothing back and was pain free. If he still feels good today, he could begin his rehab assignment this weekend along with Altuve.

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Diaz felt tightness in his left hamstring while doing some running exercises and will rest it a bit before starting back up any more rehabbing. He’s had this issue with his hamstring a couple of times already this season and they don’t want to rush anything.

Nothing really anything new to report with Correa’s condition. He hasn’t begun any baseball activities as of yet, just some light exercise. He is still expected to be out four to six weeks.

But for a few, it does look promising and we may start to see the Astros’ lineup return to full strength bit by bit. With the emergence of Yordan Alvarez and some of the starters coming back, it will be interesting to see how the front office makes room on the roster.