The Houston Astros will play the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon in a road clash, but the ball club will be without slugger Yordan Alvarez. According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the left-handed power threat has been ruled out for Saturday's matchup due to right hand inflammation.

“Yordan Alvarez is being scratched from the Astros’ lineup with inflammation in his right hand, Joe Espada said. Alvarez hit in the cage earlier today and it didn’t feel right, Espada said,” Rome wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Alvarez dealt with injury concerns toward the end of the 2024 season. He still managed to play in 147 games overall, though. So far in 2025, the 27-year-old has appeared in 29 games. After finishing ninth in American League MVP voting a season ago, Alvarez is struggling so far in the '25 campaign.

He currently holds a .210/.306/.340/.646 slash line across 121 plate appearances. The Astros star has also hit three home runs and four doubles to go along with 18 RBI.

Despite his early-season struggles, the Astros are certainly hopeful that his hand injury won't force him to miss too much time. Houston needs his bat in the lineup.

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Astros' mediocre 2025 season

The Astros hold a 16-15 record as of this story's writing. Houston has been a consistent contender in recent seasons — and the ball club could turn things around — but the Astros have yet to find their rhythm in 2025.

With that being said, players such as Hunter Brown have performed well. There is reason to believe that Houston could go on a winning streak at some point soon. The Astros are only three games behind the 19-12 Seattle Mariners, who lead the American League West.

For now, the Astros will attempt to defeat the White Sox in Chicago despite Yordan Alvarez's injury absence. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 PM EST on Saturday afternoon.