The Houston Astros will be facing off against the Washington Nationals in spring training, and they'll be without one of their key outfielders in the matchup, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.
“Jake Meyers was scratched from tonight's lineup due to back spasms, per the Astros,” Kawahara wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The hope is that the back spasms are not a lingering thing for Meyers and he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later.
Meyers was set to make his third Grapefruit League start of spring training. Last season, he was the primary center fielder for the Astros, posting a 103 OPS-plus in 104 games last season.
There is no doubt that Meyers will play a key part in the Astros' success this season, and the main thing is that they stay healthy. That was not the case last season for the Astros, and Jose Altuve believes that things will be different this time around for the clubhouse.
“I think this year, having everybody healthy, I think injuries were a big part of our game last year, unfortunately,” Altuve said. “But I think everybody is working hard right now to stay on the field, to stay healthy. That's our number one goal. If the whole team stays pretty much [healthy], and we have a good [season], we can make it to the playoffs again.”
If the Astros can stay healthy this season, it's no telling what they could end up doing, and hopefully, they can stay amongst the top of the league.
