The Houston Astros have a notable absence from their lineup on Sunday, as Yordan Alvarez was scratched from the game due to an apparent injury. Alvarez was expected to play against the Oakland Athletics, however, it appears his hand injury has begun to act up again, prompting the Astros to exercise caution when it comes to the star slugger. According to Danielle Lerner, the Astros plan to give their star slugger the next few days to get right, meaning he'll likely miss their series with the Los Angeles Angels.

Alvarez is reportedly back in Houston getting treatment on his hand and getting some time off to recuperate. Alvarez dealt with a hand injury previously this season, but only ended up missing one game. The hope from the Astros is that they'll have the star slugger back in time for their series with the New York Yankees, which gets underway July 21.

If the Yankees series is in fact the target date for Alvarez's return, there's a chance the Astros will place him on the 10-day IL. That would rule out any chance of him returning ahead of the All-Star break, and would also rule him out for their upcoming series' against the Angels and Athletics.

The Yankees and Astros will meet in the first series after the All-Star break, so it would stand to reason that the Astros, who own a 12.0-game lead in the AL West, would shut Alvarez down until then. Considering this hand injury was a slight issue for the slugger before, it makes sense the Astros would want to err on the side of caution when it comes to the health of the 25-year-old.

This season, Alvarez is slashing .306/.405/.653 with 26 home runs and 60 RBI across 75 games.