BREGMAN IS OUT
Five Astros put on injured list because of COVID concerns
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros have placed Albuquerque native and third baseman Alex Bregman, second baseman Jose Altuve, designated hitter Yordan Álvarez, catcher Martín Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia on the injured list because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
General manager James Click made the announcement on Wednesday, hours before the Astros were to wrap up a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers. Click said he couldn’t say if a player had tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to someone who had and that the length of each player’s absence would be determined by contract testing that is being performed.
Click was asked if the situation could have caused the game to be postponed.
“We’ve been in close contact with Major League Baseball throughout the day about that possibility,” he said. “They don’t believe that there is a health-safety reason not to play. So as of now, we are playing the game.”
To take their place, infielders Taylor Jones, Abraham Toro and Alex De Goti, outfielder Ronnie Dawson and catcher Garrett Stubbs have been recalled from the alternate training site.
Including Wednesday night’s 6-4 home loss to Detroit, the Astros have lost five games in a row after a 6-1 start and now will be playing without four members of their starting lineup.
Bregman is hitting .286 with a .342 on-base percentage and a .486 slugging percentage with two homers and six RBIs so far.