Yordan Alvarez Plans to Be Ready for Opening Day

Good news on Yordan Alvarez injury prognosis

The world champion Astros aren't the World Champion Astros without their southpaw slugger in the heart of the order. Yordan Alvarez debuted in 2019 and the Astros have made the Fall Classic in three of the four seasons he played. The lone season they missed the World Series was 2020, when Alvarez played only two games.

Simply put, if Yordan Alvarez is in the lineup, the Astros are going to win the AL. There has been some worry this offseason as Alvarez went weeks into Spring Training without swinging a bat. The same hand that cost Alvarez parts of the 2022 season flared up before Spring Training, but Yordan finally began swinging yesterday.

Alvarez shared through an interpreter today that the plan is still to be in the lineup on Opening Day.

"It’s been a little frustrating not being able to get into games the last couple of weeks, but thanks to God, I feel good now and we can start moving forward."

Yordan Alvarez

This is massive news, as the Astros offense just isn't the same without Yordan in the middle. Alvarez played in 89 of the Astros 106 wins last season, hitting .359 with an 1.193 OPS when the Astros were victorious. If Alvarez is hitting, Houston is almost unbeatable.

According to Chandler Rome, Yordan felt great after hitting yesterday, and while he didn't take any swings today, he did do some defensive work with the outfeilders.

As Michael Brantley recovers from his shoulder injury, he will likely be the Astros primary DH, making Yordan the primary left fielder. He continues to improve defensively, but Houston just needs him to not be a net negative defender and avoid injury with all of the positives Alvarez brings offensively.

With Yordan good to go, the Astros have plenty of lineup options and a 1-7 in the order that no team in baseball can match.