Houston Astros star infielder Jose Altuve is well ahead of schedule in his recovery from a fractured right thumb, and the 33-year-old is already headed on a rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land, the team announced on Friday.
“2B Jose Altuve will begin a rehab assignment with Triple A Sugar Land tonight,” the team's official Twitter account wrote.
It's an encouraging sign for the All-Star, who appears very likely to beat even the most optimistic of timetables in his recovery from late-March surgery to repair the fractured thumb.
At this point, it's very realistic to assume that Altuve could join the Astros as soon as next week, and likely worst-case would be in two weeks from now.
Altuve resumed baseball activities last week, and progressed to the point of being game-ready when he completed a sim game on Tuesday. Although it's unknown how long the rehab assignment will last, he will probably push to return to the big league club as soon as possible.
It's also great news for the Astros as the team has gotten off to a tough start to the 2023 season, currently sitting 19-18 and four games behind the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the AL West.
Although Mauricio Dubon has filled in adequately at second base during Altuve's absence, it's hard to replace the .300/.387/.533 slash line he put together last season en route to the third top-5 finish in AL MVP award voting of his career, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
“Houston is certainly hoping their 33-year-old superstar can jog a lineup whose .672 OPS as a team ranks bottom three in the majors,” wrote Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors on Friday.
Expect Jose Altuve to transform the Astros on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball when he makes his highly-anticipated return to the lineup next week.
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