HOUSTON – For the first time in his career, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is headed to the disabled list.
After the Astros 7-3 loss Saturday night, manager A.J. Hinch announced the team was placing the 6-time all-star on the 10-day DL with a sore right knee.
Altuve was taken out of Wednesday’s game at Colorado in the fifth inning as a precaution and had not played since.
The move will be retroactive to Wednesday and the team will announce a corresponding roster move before Sunday’s game. The Astros host the Rangers on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the series finale. The Rangers have won the first two games of the series. Sunday's game is the final meeting of the season between the two teams.
Before Friday's game, Hinch said Altuve's knee had been bothering him for a little while and they thought the time off was hopefully all the Altuve would require.
Before Saturday's game, Hinch said Altuve seemed to be feeling much better and they would again see how he felt before re-inserting him into the lineup.
Doctors visited with Altuve on Saturday and the decision was made to place Altuve on the disabled list, the move will be retroactive to Wednesday, July 26.
Altuve is hitting .329 which ranks second in the American League. His .857 OPS ranks second on the Astros, behind only Alex Bregman (.922).
Altuve joins Brian McCann (knee) and Carlos Correa (back) on the disabled list.
The first game Altuve would be eligible to return for would be Sunday, August 5 at the Dodgers. That's the final game of a three-game series matching the two teams that met in last year's World Series. Of course, the Astros won game seven in Los Angeles to win their first World Series championship.