Astros suffer injury scare after Yainer Diaz went WWE on Jose Altuve

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz has struggled to replicate the offensive consistency and impact that he's had over the past two seasons. Now the Astros' unquestioned primary catcher, Diaz has only managed a paltry .246/.280/.408 slash line through the first half of the 2025 season.

He's still hitting home runs, but the doubles have been much less frequent and he's been vulnerable against pitchers who know how to get ground balls. Why? Because Diaz is going to be swinging at almost everything and won't even try to draw a walk.

However, that doesn't mean Diaz hasn't had his moments this season. He's still a dangerous hitter even if the inconsistency is frustrating at times. One such moment came on Saturday night when Diaz connected for a home run off the notoriously stingy Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers.

Astros catcher Yainer Diaz nearly knocked out Jose Altuve while celebrating home run

Unfortunately, the standard forearm smash celebration afterwards went awry as Diaz accidentally clocked Jose Altuve in the face.

The good news is that Altuve was fine after the incident and could be seen joking about it afterwards in the dugout. Thankfully, Diaz isn't the biggest guy and his elbow only clipped Altuve's nose after an errant forearm smash. Had it been Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, Altuve might've been headed to the hospital for further evaluation.

It's fun to laugh about now, but this could have been an actual problem for the Astros. Houston called up Brice Matthews, which gives them a consistent solution at second base for now. But the Astros don't really have an outfielder on the roster that can do what Altuve does on the field and in the clubhouse. If Diaz's elbow catches him more flush, the All-Star break could have started on a truly sour note.

Instead, we get to laugh a bit at both players' expense. Given how many injuries the Astros have had to deal with this year, it is nice to laugh off what could have been a brutal accident.

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