I’ve been keeping my eye on that one too. From the way things sound right now Altuve may be possible for that series, but Springer might be the following week or so.
So Springer, Altuve, McHugh, and Stassi back by the end of the month. Diaz and Correa back around the middle of July, and Smith back in August. As bad as it is to have Correa out that long, it does have the benefit of allowing Luhnow to potentially make a roster clearing trade near the deadline that would eliminate the need to DFA White or Kemp in order to make room for Tucker.
I'd bet the over on Springer at the end of the month. I'd bet the over on Altuve in the Yanks series as I know some have been hoping for. Diaz around the middle of July seems about right, as if you'd have put it to a poll on the day it happened my sense is people would have voted on mid June, so a month later seems about par for the course. I'm not complaining. Watching Durant go down last night to a potentially career ending injury (and almost assuredly he will never be the same again) and robbing us of his late prime as an all time great b/c he hurried back and got on the court before he was ready makes me appreciate the idea of take it slow and then give it another two weeks. The Astros lack of transparency can get annoying at times, but my default is to take the initial time table and double it and that works about right. I'd be surprised to see Correa in the lineup on the big club before August 1st for sure.
So, what does Diaz's setback mean for Jack Mayfield? As it stands, he is our primary SS for the time. While he did great in AAA, and I'm glad he's getting some MLB playing time, I think he's just a AAAA player. Despite his HR in Seattle and the double in his first at bat, he's pretty much a guaranteed out. He has great defense, if he stays on the MLB roster he should just be a bench player, defensive substitute, and maybe occasional starter to give the main guys a breather. I'd like to go with Bregman as the primary SS until the injury bug passes. Have they totally given up on Straw at SS after just one start? Would be nice if he could be at least a serviceable backup for the time being.
ive been surprised at how much they’ve played Mayfield. To me it makes a bunch more sense to have White play 1B, Gurriel 3B, and Bregman SS. Otherwise I also would rather see Straw playing SS. To me Mayfield appears pretty clearly overmatched.
I'd add Straw as a guy I expected to see less as well. Overall, I expected Reddick, Brantley, Kemp, and Marisnick to play more between Correa's injury and Alvarez's callup.
It'll be a while until Diaz and Correa come back. Altuve addresses 2B but does nothing to help our 1B/3B/SS problem. Looks like, barring a trade, injury or a Reed callup (unlikely, but should happen IMO), White will get a ton of playing time until one of Diaz/Correa comes back. That's too bad. I don't hate him, nor do I root for our players to struggle, but he is what he is. A bad hitter who has no place in our lineup.
They, like most winning organizations, value defense, especially at SS, way more than most of us do. I don't think they care that he's over matched at the plate as long as they are ok with the glove.
I actually like Bregman's defense at SS better. He will get the start there tonight, and Mayfield the day off, which is really good. I think Bregman should be the primary starting SS until the injury bug is over.
If they didn’t have these days off, not needing the 13th pitcher, Mayfield would’ve been sent down for Alvarez.
Once the Toronto series begins, somebody is going down to make room for another pitcher (probably Deetz). Barring injury, someone gets sent down, and only Straw and Mayfield have options. It may be Straw to give him more work to improve at SS, and he and Jake are similar players. I imagine the Astros value a quality backup SS/3B option. Not much IF depth at the moment.
Astros' George Springer: May begin rehab stint over weekend That is amazing he was able to recover so fast from a grade 2 hamstring. Awesome! Springer and Altuve might be back when we play the Yankees.
That's what in-game switches are for. Start Mayfield on the bench, and then bring him in as a PH/PR/defensive sub.
