Taking a look at the Houston Astros injury report ahead of the series opener against the Athletics.
The Houston Astros come off a devastating loss as they fell to their division rival, the Seattle Mariners, with a chance to take a lead in the AL West race.
With the loss, the Astros and the Texas Rangers now both sit at 78-80 with four games to go, and whichever team can be more consistent over this final stretch will win the division and make the postseason, while the other will very likely miss out on the postseason.
The Astros now shift their focus to a four-game series against the Athletics, which is the final series of the season, and because of that, the result of this series will play a major role in the standings.
Additionally, Houston must get healthy and stay healthy heading into this final stretch, so with that in mind, let's take a look at the Astros' injury report heading into the series opener against the Athletics.
When looking at the injury report, there are a few different groups of players. There are players who are day-to-day, players who will be back or possibly be back for the postseason, one player still to be determined, and then those who are out for the rest of the season.
Starting with the day-to-day players, that includes shortstop Jeremy Pena (right forearm soreness) and outfielder Daulton Varsho (left wrist soreness).
Pena was hit by a pitch on September 22nd against the Mariners, so he was removed from the game and also did not play on September 23rd, while Varsho was out for his second consecutive game on September 23rd, so it will be interesting to watch how each of these players progresses and when they could return.
In terms of players who could return for the playoffs, that includes right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows (right elbow neuritis and right shoulder inflammation), right-handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos (right knee tendinitis), and left-handed pitcher Steven Okert.
At this point, Okert is expected back for the playoffs if the Astros get there, while Burrows and Los Santos could possibly return for the postseason, so it will be intriguing to see if all three of these pitchers can return for the postseason, because if they cannot, Houston may be in trouble when it comes to the depth at the mound.
There is one player who is still to be determined when it comes to his timetable and that outfielder and infielder Brice Matthews (left knee inflammation). Matthews had returned to the lineup, but on September 22nd he injured his knee while making a sliding catch, but the good news is that there was no structural damage. With that said, it will be intriguing to watch when Matthews' status is updated and if he may be able to return for the postseason.
Looking at the final group, that includes players who are out for the season and that is right-handed pitcher Cristian Javier (right groin strain), shortstop Carlos Correa (recovering from surgery to repair torn peroneus brevis tendon in his left ankle), and Brando Walter (recovering from Tommy John surgery that repaired torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow).
With this group of Javier, Correa, and Walter it is not ideal that they will all be out for the playoffs, but getting healthy for next season is now the priority so it will be worth watching how they each progress and if they can be ready for the start of the season.
So, as the Astros move through the end of the regular season, it will be interesting to see who can return to the lineup before the final game of the regular season, if Houston can get to the playoffs and have a few players return at that point, and if there is good progression from players who are out for the rest of the year.
