Astros GM Shares Ominous Update on Yordan Alvarez

Yordan Alvarez left Thursday night's game against Toronto with oblique discomfort. He took only one at-bat before being pinch hit for by Corey Julks in the third inning.

Alvarez was the second Astro in as many weeks to miss time with an oblique injury, as Jose Altuve also sat for a few days. He missed only three games while nursing the oblique. According to Dana Brown, Alvarez may miss quite a bit more time.

Brown made an appearance on Sportstalk790 this morning and shared that the timeline is still up in the air, but Houston intends to let their slugger rest for five to seven days before evaluating further to see how long Alvarez will be out.

Needless to say, this is a crushing blow for the Astros. If Alvarez is to miss an extended period of time, they legitimately may be one of the worst offenses in baseball. That is a wild statement to make in light of the Astros Golden Era, but it's very true this season.

The Astros are 11th in the MLB in runs per game, averaging 4.58. Their .716 team OPS is 20th. No player is more rsponsible for their metrics being even that high than Yordan.

Alvarez is hitting .277 with 17 home runs, 55 RBI, a .978 OPS and a 167 OPS+. No other Astros regular has an OPS above even .800.

Yordan has played in 33 of the Astros 37 wins this season. He's hitting .308 with a 1.081 OPS in their wins. That level of production isn't easily replaced. Very few players on the planet can put up those numbers.

The Astros offense of old needs to make a return. Still five games back of a loaded Rangers lineup that isn't going away, the Astros need to string together some wins. Getting Alvarez back as soon as possible while getting more production in his absence is paramount.