Yordan Álvarez's injury will determine who secures final Astros playoff roster spot

The Houston Astros won the AL West for the seventh time in eight seasons and officially clinched a spot in the MLB Postseason this week. That's the good news. The bad news is that an unfortunate and untimely injury has befallen one of their best players.

The last thing the Astros wanted to deal with was an injury to Yordan Álvarez heading into the playoffs. Álvarez will not make the Astros' road trip to Cleveland this weekend as he continues to rehab from the right knee sprain he suffered last Sunday while sliding into second base.

The injury reports are mixed, with some suggesting that Álvarez is recovering nicely, while others paint a rather grim picture of his availability for the upcoming AL Wild Card Series that begins next Tuesday at Minute Maid Park. Astros fans should know more about his progress in the coming days.

Yordan Álvarez's injury will determine who secures final Astros playoff roster spot

The injury to Álvarez will not only affect the Astros' starting lineup for the playoffs next week, but also who makes Houston's postseason roster. Given that the AL Wild Card is just a three-game series, Houston could, and probably should, choose to go with just 12 pitchers. The Astros will only need three starters, meaning Joe Espada could roll with 14 position players on the playoff roster and still have nine relievers.

But figuring out how to piecemeal together the rest of the Astros' playoff roster will depend on Álvarez's availability. It's quite doubtful that Álvarez will serve as anything other than the team's designated hitter, meaning that an extra outfielder may be necessary.

Furthermore, the Astros will likely look to get Victor Caratini's bat into the lineup during the AL Wild Card Series. With Álvarez all but locked into the DH spot, Caratini may see more time at first base, meaning that Cesar Salazar may indeed sneak onto the Astros postseason roster as the backup catcher to Yainer Diaz.

There are a lot of moving parts, and Espada will have some decisions to make before the Astros' playoff roster drops next Tuesday. The hope is that the added rest will help Álvarez to heal up in time to be part of Houston's quest to return to the ALCS.

The worst case scenario, of course, is that Álvarez is too limited to even be part of the Astros' playoff push for the AL Wild Card Series. But let's try to stay positive rather than jump toward radical extremes, shall we?

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