Latest injury update could shake up Astros postseason roster, but not in a good way

In what's become an annual tradition, the Houston Astros are on their way back to the MLB Postseason. Houston took out their AL West rival on Tuesday night, and clinched the division crown for the fourth straight season (sending the Mariners to the wastebin in the process). Astros manager Joe Espada can now focus his attention on next week's AL Wild Card matchup.

Winning the division and clinching a playoff spot was paramount, and now Houston can focus on getting healthy for what everyone in H-Town hopes is another magical October run.

When it comes to the overall health of the team, obviously all eyes will be on Yordan Álvarez. The Astros slugger suffered a troubling injury over the weekend, and his status for the rest of the season, and even the postseason, is now in question. But there's another Astros player who should able to return in time for the playoffs; however, most of the Houston faithful would probably prefer it if he'd just sit this one out.

Astros OF Chas McCormick could return for the MLB Postseason

Chas McCormick suffered a hand injury a few weeks back and has been on the IL since Sept. 11 with a small fracture. That injury appears to be healing nicely, and while it was initially reported that he could return this week, it now appears McCormick won't go on the Astros' season-ending road trip to Cleveland. However, the chances of McCormick rejoining the Astros for the postseason are still high.

While getting one of your Opening Day starters (and one of the key contributors to past playoff runs) back in the lineup sounds like a positive thing, that may not be the case. Though McCormick had a decent stretch during the first week of September, the outfielder's overall numbers this season have been dreadful.

McCormick is hitting .211/.271/.306 on the year. The 29-year-old's .577 OPS is the worst of his career, and marks nearly a 300-point drop from his career-best .842 OPS in 2023. It's difficult to quantify just how bad McCormick has been this season.

The Astros had already sent McCormick down to Triple-A Sugar Land in late-August due to lack of production, and recalled him a few days later simply because of injury. Adding McCormick to the roster for the postseason is not a wise move, and hopefully it's one that Espada and the Astros front office think long and hard about before actually putting pen to paper.

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