Alex Bregman's bizarre injury explanation is far from ideal for Astros lineup

Houston Astros fans searching for any clarity on Alex Bregman's potential return to the hot corner may be out of luck for the foreseeable future.

Bregman told Chandler Rome of The Athletic this week that his availability to play third base would be "kind of a fluid situation" for the rest of the season as he continues to deal with swelling in his right elbow. The injury sidelined Bregman for five games before he returned to Houston's lineup as the DH in Wednesday's contest against the Boston Red Sox, after which he indicated that his defensive ability was still limited.

“Some little gremlins in there are causing some swelling that I’m just going to have to try to mitigate through the rest of the year and keep the swelling out,” Bregman told Rome.

Well, that's certainly one explanation. Another could be the arthroscopic surgery he underwent after the 2018 season to remove bone chips in the same elbow. Gremlins or not, Bregman's injury is problematic not only for a player in his walk year as a pending free agent, but also for an Astros roster that offers precious little flexibility when it comes to lineup construction.

Alex Bregman's bizarre injury explanation is far from ideal for Astros lineup

The Astros will certainly take Bregman's bat in the lineup any way they can get it. If he's limited defensively, though, it severely complicates things for the club.

If Bregman moves into the DH role on a somewhat permanent basis for the rest of the season, Astros manager Joe Espada is going to need to get creative. He'll also probably need do something he doesn't want to do – namely, play Yordan Alvarez daily in left field in order to keep their regular DH's explosive bat in the lineup.

Bregman's move to DH also leaves a gaping hole at third base, where rookies Shay Whitcomb and Zach Dezenzo have done little to prove that they are up for the task of being everyday starters. The two are a combined 9-for-47 at the plate since being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land and have subpar fielding percentages at third base.

Until Bregman is healthy, Espada has the unenviable task of maximizing the Astros' offense without sacrificing too much defense – all with severely limited resources. In the meantime, hopefully Bregman can defeat those gremlins sooner rather than later.

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