Houston Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve injured his right hand during Saturday night’s World Baseball Classic game between the United States and Venezuela. He was hit by a pitch from Colorado Rockies closer Daniel Bard and left the game immediately and in obvious pain. The Astros say they will announce an update on Altuve on Sunday.
“You don’t like it, but we don’t have a word on that yet. So you always try not to think the worst.” This was announced by Astros manager Dusty Baker Houston Chronicle. Here is the injury:
One high-profile player has already been seriously injured during the WBC: New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz. He tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during Puerto Rico’s celebrations after defeating the Dominican Republic. Díaz is expected to miss the entire season. It was an accidental injury at a party. Altuve was injured during a traditional baseball game.
It goes without saying that the loss of Altuve, who ranked fifth among all qualified players in 2022 with .921 OPS, would be a devastating blow to a defending World Series champion for an extended period of time, especially since Yordan Alvarez has and has a hand injury Spring not played yet. Utility men David Hensley and Mauricio Dubón are the likely candidates to replace Altuve should he miss the time.
Altuve, who turns 33 in May, slashed .300/.387/.533 last season with 39 doubles and 28 home runs. The Astros went 106-56 en route to the franchise’s second World Series title, though Altuve won 11-58 (.190) in the team’s 13 postseason games.