Astros news: Yordan Alvarez knee problems hitting bigger issue

Houston Astros phenom Yordan Alvarez was scratched from the finale against Seattle due to knee problems, and these issues lead to bigger concerns.

At 23-years-old, you never want to hear much about knee problems, but that is where Yordan Alvarez currently finds himself. After missing the first 18 games of the season due to knee issues that were kept on the down-low, Alvarez came back and smacked the ball around for the Houston Astros before having to hit the pine again when his knee discomfort came back.

It was announced just prior to the finale against Seattle that Alvarez was scratched from the lineup because of more knee troubles, supposedly coming from his slide into third base.

Whatever the case, prolonged knee issues for Yordan Alvarez are definitely leading to a much bigger issue and a much bigger conversation that needs to be had.

Yordan Alvarez’s knee issues need to be addressed soon

While Yordan Alvarez was primarily going to be used as a DH anyway, the Astros have had a history of using the DH to give key guys a break while not losing them from the lineup.

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By monopolizing the DH role for Alvarez, they obviously lose that ability. Frankly, I was holding out hope that Alvarez could learn to play first base. He still has time while Yuli Gurriel is here, but you need your knees to be an effective first baseman.

In the meantime, it definitely eliminates him from ever being able to play in the outfield.

When a player is this young, you hate to start eliminating any options to move him forward. I’m not opposed to him being in a permanent DH situation, my only concern is that if his knees are really that bad, you can’t protect him from his own body forever.

While there is no Tommy John surgery for the knees, if there is something that Astros can do now to fix his knees before they hinder his career further, even if that means shelving him for the season, it might not be the worst idea. We need him far more moving forward than we do right now, and if there is any risk that this will be plaguing him for the long-term, it needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

This is all troubling, no doubt about that. If he spends his career at DH, that’s fine by me and I’m sure it’s fine by him as well. But bigger picture, you need your knees to play this game in any facet.