Taking a look at the Houston Astros injury report as they aim to win the series against the New York Yankees on Thursday, with the series tied at 1-1.
The Houston Astros are coming off a 9-3 loss in the second game of the series against the New York Yankees, which now has the series tied at 1-1.
Heading into tonight, the Astros will hoping to take the series and defeat the Yankees, so it will be interesting to see what the approaches are from both the mound the plate. However, before tonight's game does start, it is time to take a look at the injury report for Houston to monitor any injured players who could be returning this season.
So here is a look at the Astros' injury report heading into the series finale against the Yankees with the series tied 1-1.
On the injury report for the Astros, there are right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows, outfielder Brice Matthews, shortstop Carlos Correa, and left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter.
Starting with Burrows, he is still working through right elbow neuritis which placed on the IL on July 13th and is retroactive to July 7th. At this point, Burrows' return is still yet to be determined but, he has made some progress.
On that note, Burrows has made two starts for Triple-A Sugar Land where he has not allowed a run in nine innings. Burrows was particularly good on August 20th where he threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, and gave up one hit, walked two batters, and struck out five batters.
With the progression that Burrows has shown with Triple-A Sugar Land, he could be set for a return to the Majors soon as long as he continues to trend in the right direction and plays like he has in his two rehab starts.
Now, looking at Matthews, he has been working through a left knee sprain, which placed him on the IL on July 17th, and then on August 19th, he was moved to the 60-day IL.
Currently, Matthews' return is to be determined, but this does seem like a step back, as Matthews did have an expected return in the third week of August, so that is definitely not where Matthews was hoping to be.
In terms of recovery, Matthews has been on the field doing some hitting and fielding ground balls, with the next task set to be getting him on the bases to see how his knee reacts. With the change in Matthews's timetable, there is no telling when he will return, but as long as he is consistent with his recovery, he may have an opportunity to return at some point this season.
The third player to talk about on this injury report is Correa, who has been recovering from the peroneus brevis tendon repair surgery he had on his left ankle. This injury had Correa placed on the IL on May 6th, but he was then moved to the 60-day IL on June 2nd.
As far as Correa's timetable, it was thought that he might have an opportunity to return at some point in 2026, and that actually seems to be quite likely, as manager Joe Espada recently said that he expects Correa to be ready at some point in September.
With that update, it seems Correa is in a good position as he has been taking dry swings and should begin tee work if he has not already which is a solid place to be. As long as Correa continues to progress, he could be in a position to return just in time for the MLB Playoffs as long as the Astros can clinch the AL West.
The final player to mention on this report is Walter, who has been recovering from the Tommy John Surgery he had on September 23rd, 2025, to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.
As a result of the injury, Walter was placed on the 60-day IL on March 25th and is expected to miss the rest of this season, but could return at some point during the 2027 season. If Walter continues to heal his elbow and is ready for the 2027 season, he could provide some much-needed help for the Astros on the mound.
So looking at the injury report, the only player with some sort of time table is Correa who could return in the next month or so, which would be huge for the Astros and a deep postseason push.
On the other hand, if Burrows and Matthews can continue progressing they also may have the ability to return for the postseason and at the bare minimum provide some solid depth for the Astros leading into the postseason.
Walter may be out for the rest of this season, but if he is ready to pitch in 2027, he could be a key part of the Astros' pitching staff in 2026 and potentially help this team to be a lot more consistent from the mound moving forward.
