Altuve begins rehab assignment; review call still rankles
OAKLAND, Calif. — Twentyfour days after landing on the disabled list for the first time in his major league career, Jose Altuve appears close to returning.
Altuve departed Oakland Coliseum prior to Saturday’s 7-1 loss to the Athletics for a rehab assignment with Class AAA Fresno. He will lead off and receive “three or four at-bats” in the Grizzlies’ game on Sunday in Tacoma, manager A.J. Hinch said.
The location is convenient — just 30 miles away from Seattle, where the Astros open a threegame series against the Mariners on Monday. Class AAA Fresno is off on Monday, too, making an immediate activation following one minor league game a logical decision.
“That is a consideration, but I think before we rush to a plan we need to just get him on a field in a competitive environment and get him playing,” Hinch said. “Clearly him going to Tacoma, (Fresno then) leaving to go to Sacramento, it would be convenient to do that. But I just don’t know until he plays.”
Altuve has never required a minor league rehab assignment nor has he ever played a game in Class AAA during his 12-year professional career. The right knee soreness that persisted throughout June dictated both milestones.
“We’re encouraged we’ve gotten to this point, he feels really, really good — he could probably get three hits in the big leagues today, that’s the way he is,” Hinch said. “But getting him into a game where he can ease into it a little bit should pay dividends moving forward when we do activate him.”
Counting Saturday’s loss, the Astros are 7-12 during Altuve’s absence. Their division lead cut in half by Friday night’s tense, one-run loss, Altuve was vocal in the dugout throughout, even barking toward first-base umpire
Jim Wolf following a questionable check-swing call in the eighth inning.
“It’s tough for me, everyone knows this is the first time in my career I’ve been on the DL,” Altuve said Saturday before leaving the clubhouse. “I’d like to come here and get to play, but I had a lot of fun watching these guys play. What they do is impressive. We’re in first place. I spent a good time rooting for my team.”
Hinch not happy with ruling reversal
When he met with reporters prior to Saturday’s game against the A’s, manager A.J. Hinch had yet to see “clear and convincing” evidence that Ramon Laureano
was safe in the ninth inning of Friday night’s 4-3 loss.
Running from first base following Nick Martini’s double into the left-field corner, Laureano was initially ruled out by homeplate umpire Alfonso Marquez following a stupendous relay from Josh Reddick to Carlos Correa to catcher Martin Maldonado.
A three minute and six second review overturned the call, leaving a few Astros players fuming following the game. Reddick said he was “tired of getting screwed over by reviews” and claimed there was “zero angle” which showed Laureano was safe.
Evan Gattis, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Saturday, tweeted “Someone, somewhere, somehow thought he was safe? I was born today. But 32 years ago.”
“What I felt like with that call, and we see it a lot, is it’s so close you’re not going to turn it over,” Hinch said Saturday. “If he calls him safe, he’s going to stay safe; if he calls him out, he was going to stay out. Everybody in our dugout thought that’s the way it was going to be.”
It, of course, was not. The decision evoked memories of a 3-2 loss on July 25 in Colorado, when Alex Bregman’s home run was overturned on review due to fan interference. Bregman was ruled out at the discretion of the replay official. The Astros’ third baseman responded with an expletive-filled rant following the game.
“We’ll move on and we’ve had a couple tough one of those, but I’m sure over time we’ve been the beneficiary,” Hinch said Saturday. “It just doesn’t feel like it the day after a game when the team that’s chasing you gets the benefit of the doubt.”