Last season, Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez had to deal with discomfort in his left hand.
The issue was on-and-off, but didn’t stop him from hitting 37 home runs, driving in 97 runs, and finishing with a 1.019 OPS.
It certainly didn’t prevent him from unleashing two huge go-ahead home runs in the AL Division Series against the Seattle Mariners, and another crucial go-ahead blast in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
However, it’s concerning that the player is already being limited with the issue after having a few months to rest.
Yordan Alvarez is running but isn’t hitting right now-part of the plan to protect his left hand which caused him some problems n 2022.Says he’ll start hitting n a couple days&doesn’t expect it to be a problem n 2023:”It did flare up a little bit n the offseason”Says rest is a key pic.twitter.com/850D5QHoZM
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) February 21, 2023
Players often underestimate injuries and say things like they don’t expect them to be an issue in the upcoming season, and they end up making them miss time.
It’s certainly a wait-and-see scenario, but the real test will come when Alvarez picks up a bat and faces live pitching.
He is dealing with left hand discomfort and will not resume swinging a bat for a few days.
Alvarez is the best hitter on the Astros, and he has had 30-plus homers in each of the last two seasons, while also maintaining an elite .291 batting average.
The team will certainly be competitive in the event he has to miss extended time, but it won’t be quite the same.
That’s why the Astros are being extremely cautious with the star slugger and MVP finalist.
