Taking a look at the Houston Astros injury report ahead of the series finale against the Kansas City Royals, with the series tied 1-1 and coming down to a winner-take-all game.
The Houston Astros fell to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, which now has the series tied at 1-1 and means the series finale will decide the series.
Additionally, with the loss the Astros now stand at 76-76 overall and are tied with the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the AL West. Houston does have the tiebreaker, but the race for the division title is now very tight and will come down to last few games.
Now, getting back to the series finale, the Astros will be hoping to defeat the Royals and add another victory to the resume, however, another thing Houston will be looking at is getting healthy and staying healthy as they hope to clinch the AL West and make the postseason.
With that said, let's take a look at the Astros' injury report as they head into the series finale against the Royals.
First up is outfielder and infielder Brice Matthews who is dealing with a left knee sprain that he suffered on July 12th. As a result of the left knee sprain, Matthews was placed on the IL on July 17th and then he was transferred to the 60-day IL on August 19th.
At this point, the timetable for Matthews is still to be determined, but he has played four games on a Minor League rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land and is 0 for 16 with nine strikeouts. So, based on Matthews' performance with Sugar Land it will be interesting to see if and when the Astros choose to bring him back onto the active roster in the Majors.
Next is right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows who is still working through right elbow neuritis as well as right shoulder inflammation. With the injury, Burrows was placed on the 15-day IL on July 13th which is retroactive to July 7th.
The timetable for Burrows is also to be determined, but he will throw another bullpen session on September 17th and could throw three innings in a rehab in final three games at Triple-A. So, based on how the bullpen session goes, as well as a potential outing at Triple-A, it will be interesting to see if he looks good enough to come back to the roster or if he needs more time.
The third player on this injury report is shortstop Carlos Correa who is still recovering from the surgery he had done to repair the torn peroneus brevis tendon in his left ankle. Correa's injury occurred on May 5th and then he got surgery on May 11th, so as a result he was placed on IL on May 6th and then was moved to the 60-day IL on June 2nd.
While Correa was initially pushing for a return this season, his expected return is now for 2027 as he was rehabbing at the team's spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, but on September 15th, he decided to not push for a return and instead shift focus on returning in 2027. So, as Correa aims to return for next season, it will be interesting to see how he progresses and what his process looks like.
Next up is left-handed pitcher Steven Okert who is dealing with a right hamstring strain. Based on the injury, Okert was placed on the 15-day IL on September 4th, which is retroactive to September 1st.
As far as Okert's timetable goes, it is still to be determined as he is in a throwing program but he has yet to get on the mound which is very intriguing, especially with the postseason just around the corner. So as Okert continues to progress it will be worth monitoring if he is ready to go for the postseason.
The last player on this injury report if left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter who is still 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 this injury, Walter was placed on the 60-day IL on March 25th and will miss the rest of this season, but he should be ready to contribute from the mound in 2027.
So as the Astros ramp up for the postseason, it will be interesting to see if they can get back Matthews, Burrows, and Okert to contribute in the playoffs, as well as how Correa and Walter progress as they hope to return for the 2027 season.
