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The Houston Astros fanbase has been dealt some devastating injury news throughout the entire season. It started with Justin Verlander (who's still on the IL, albeit with a different injury than he started the season with), and then the injury bug bit nearly every pitcher in the Astros rotation.
But while the Astros managed to bolster the starting rotation with the addition of Yusei Kikuchi at last week's MLB trade deadline, nothing was done to help the struggling Houston offense. Over the last month, the Astros are hitting just .235/.290/.374. Only the Cleveland Guardians and the lowly Chicago White Sox have a lower OPS over the past month.
The Astros' lack of hitting should have been addressed at the trade deadline, especially considering that Kyle Tucker has yet to return to the club. The latest injury update surrounding the Astros' star makes Houston's lack of urgency at the deadline even more troublesome.
Kyle Tucker injury update brings Astros' trade deadline failures into focus
Tucker fouled a ball off his shin back in early June and has yet to return to the diamond. Earlier this week, Astros manager Joe Espada cast doubt on the notion that Tucker will even return sometime this month. While a timetable hasn't been set for the slugger's return, it's obvious that Astros fans are at least looking at weeks from now.
But Astros' GM Dana Brown failed to get Isaac Peradas, Yandy Diaz, or any other bat that might have helped elevate the Astros' lineup over the final two months of the season. This isn't the same dominant Astros team from years past. It's a team that's struggling to keep its head above .500 whose only path to the postseason might lie with winning the AL West.
Unfortunately, the division-leading Seattle Mariners did something to boost their struggling lineup. The M's added Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner while also hanging on to every member of their elite starting rotation.
None of this is to suggest that the Astros are out of it. There's still plenty of games left and the Astros are playoff-tested. But with Tucker's return to the lineup not even being discussed, Houston is going to have to find other ways to manufacture runs while their listless offense attempts to plod forward.