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The Houston Astros may lead the American League West by five games, but they are dealing with injury trouble at the moment. Houston received an encouraging Yordan Alvarez update on Friday, however, via Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
“Yordan Alvarez is swinging again,” Rome wrote on X, formerly Twitter, before providing a number of other important Astros updates. “Chas McCormick has been reinstated from the IL and Kenedy Corona was optioned. Spencer Arrightetti and Cristian Javier headed to Double-A Corpus Christi this week. Luis Garcia is going to Single-A Fayetteville. Jeremy Peña is in Florida.”
Alvarez is dealing with right hand inflammation. The Astros — who play the Seattle Mariners this weekend — will closely monitor his status. The fact that Alvarez is swinging a bat is especially encouraging given the fact that he is battling a hand injury.
Alvarez has been limited to 29 games played during the '25 season because of injuries. During that time, the 28-year-old has slashed just .210/.306/.340 to go along with a .646 OPS and three home runs. Although those numbers are far from ideal, Alvarez features the talent of a serious MVP candidate. He made three consecutive All-Star teams from 2022-2024 and finished within the top 10 of AL MVP voting twice during that span, even earning a third place finish in 2022.
At 56-40, the Astros hold a five-game lead over the 51-45 Mariners in the AL West. The Astros-Mariners three-game weekend series is certainly important given the standings. A Mariners' sweep would instantly place Seattle back in serious contention for the division lead. An Astros sweep would lead to an extremely convincing division advantage, though.
Friday night's first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 PM EST in Seattle as the Astros look to get the job done on the road. As for Yordan Alvarez, updates will continue to be provided on his injury status as they are made available.
