Astros shut down Carlos Correa for the regular season

Carlos Correa is once again riding the pine for the Astros. He will be out the final regular-season games with back issues and is hopeful for the playoffs.

The Astros will have to make the push for postseason home-field advantage without their star shortstop Carlos Correa in the lineup. Manager A.J. Hinch has shut him down for the final three games of the season in hopes of his back tightness easing up before the playoffs begin.

Earlier in the week, Correa was a last-minute scratch from the lineup when he approached Hinch prior to Tuesday night’s game complaining of tightness in his lower back. To err on the side of caution, Hinch decided to sit Correa for the night and expressed he wasn’t overly concerned about the situation.

"“I’m not concerned at all today. I think you can ask me later in the week if it continues and I’ll be bothered by it. This one is relatively easy.” via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle"

Well, it’s later in the week, and Correa is still experiencing stiffness, has sat out the last three games, and is now declared out for the remaining regular-season games. If I were Hinch, I think I’d be “bothered” by it.

Correa saw a doctor in L.A. last night and was told that his back would need more time to rest. They’ll slowly get him into some workouts and how he responds Wednesday and Thursday will determine if he’ll be ready for the first game of the ALDS on Friday, October 4th. Hinch is optimistic and feels he’ll be ready to be in the lineup come game one of the playoffs.

This issue with his back is not new to Correa, by any means. He was just recently put on the 10-day Injured List and missed 25 games for the same problem. He returned to the lineup on Sept. 17, only to play three games before the tightness returned, apparently as a result of the long flight to the west coast.

As I’m sure you all remember, Correa missed over a month last season with a back injury and was never the quite the same for the rest of that season after he returned. All we can do is hope that he’s ready to go for postseason play because we know when healthy, he can be a great asset to this lineup and will be needed to “Take it Back”.