Yordan Alvarez looked ready but another Astros player’s rehab went the opposite way

Yordan Alvarez made his long awaited return to the field on Tuesday night. The Houston Astros slugger, who's been on the injured list since the beginning of May, stepped onto the diamond at Whataburger Field for the first game of his rehab assignment with the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Alvarez had been plagued by a lingering hand injury, and after numerous setbacks, was finally able to swing the bat once again. He didn't disappoint in his first game back, going 2-for-4 with a double.

Alvarez is now expected to receive an off-day to recover on Wednesday before playing back-to-back on Thursday and Friday. Houston is holding out hope that Alvarez will be back in the lineup by Saturday. Given that Houston has been blanked four times in their last five games, Alvarez's return to the lineup can't come soon enough.

Yordan Alvarez looked ready, but Luis Garcia's rehab went in the wrong direction

But while Alvarez looked ready to come back, the same cannot be said for starting pitcher Luis Garcia. The Astros right-hander, who's rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, had another poor outing on Tuesday night, and it's got fans wondering if he'll even make it back to the big leagues this season.

In what was his eighth minor league rehab start of the season, Garcia surrendered five earned runs on seven hits, including two home runs. He lasted 4⅓ innings, threw a total of 84 pitches, and racked up six strikeouts. The Astros were hoping that Garcia could rejoin the rotation during the latter part of the season, but his stats in the minors suggest that could be a bad idea.

During his last four starts, three of which came at Triple-A Sugar Land, Garcia has accumulated an impressive 21 strikeouts over 15⅔ innings pitched, but he's also allowed nine runs and has yet to make it past the fifth inning. With Houston locked in a tight battle for the top spot in the AL West standings, they can ill-afford to run out a struggling starter who may not be 100% just yet.

The anticipation for Alvarez's return certainly went through the roof after his display on Tuesday, but Astros fans need to tone down their expectations for Garcia. He may still need more time on his rehab assignment before being thrust back into the rotation.

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