The Houston Astros have dealt with a flurry of injuries this season, especially when it comes to their pitching staff. They've also been without slugger Yordan Alvarez, who hasn't played since May 2 due to a hand injury.

At this point, the Astros are leaving Alvarez's return in his hands, as GM Dana Brown said on Wednesday.

Via Brian McTaggart:

“It's a matter of when he says I'm ready to go and he'll be back in the lineup,” Brown said.

Alvarez has been participating in baseball activities and has also taken batting practice in the cage. Skipper Joe Espada also doubled down on Brown's comments earlier this week:

“I'm not going to box him in like that,” Espada said. “We're going to wait until he feels like he's ready to go, but I'm not going to put a specific day or game or anything like that.”

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“He continues to progress,” Espada continued. “He ran, he hit, he's doing all the baseball activities. Waiting for… Once he feels like he's ready to go, we'll get him in there.”

Alvarez has struggled this season when in the lineup. Known as one of the most feared power hitters in baseball, the 27-year-old is hitting just .210 with three home runs. He's smacked 30+ bombs in each of the last four years.

Perhaps some time off will help Alvarez find his best again. He missed substantial time in 2023 but still produced at the dish, slashing just under .300 with 31 homers. Hand injuries can obviously be tricky, so the Astros are honestly doing the right thing to let the Cuban determine when he's ready to roll again.

Houston has won three in a row and currently sits at 29-25 heading into Wednesday's clash with the Athletics. Getting back the elite version of Alvarez would do wonders for this lineup, who rank 14th in runs scored so far.