Springer excels in workout, ready to play
CHICAGO — Barring a setback, it appears likely George Springer’s name will grace the top of Astros manager A.J. Hinch’s lineup card Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
All signs point toward the Astros activating their All-Star outfielder before Wednesday night’s matchup against the White Sox and righthander Miguel Gonzalez. Springer, who has missed the team’s last 13 games because of a left quad injury, went through an extensive workout Tuesday afternoon. Afterward, he said it made for “a very positive day.”
Activating Springer will require a corresponding move to the Astros’ roster, a transaction most likely to come in the form of a demotion to Class AAA for third baseman J.D. Davis or first baseman Tyler White. The just-recalled Davis seems the likeliest candidate to be optioned, but the Astros also called him up when they did because of the slew of lefthanders they will face on this trip.
Of Springer’s workout, Hinch said it was “probably the best day we could have imagined.” Springer ran the bases, took fly balls in center field and made throws back to the infield. The team’s goal was to get him winded.
“It was the highestvolume day that we’ve been able to have for him,” Hinch said before Tuesday night’s series opener against the White Sox. “This is the best he’s run since spring training, which is a good sign he’s ready to go pretty soon. Given the workload today, it wasn’t going to be today. But maybe this series.”
Hinch wouldn’t definitively commit to Wednesday as Springer’s return date, but the manager was “pretty excited about how (Tuesday) went.”
Springer also was pleased with his progress.
“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I would like to play as soon as I can.”
Correa will wait to swing bat
Carlos Correa won’t swing a bat during the Astros’ stay in Chicago this week as he had hoped, but the All-Star shortstop said Tuesday he plans to do so during the team’s two-game set in Arizona early next week.
Correa is ahead of schedule in his rehab from the July 19 operation to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb but isn’t expected to return to the Astros’ lineup until September.
“He’s doing more today than we would’ve expected coming out of surgery, which is good,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “There’s still no target date. I think he’s going to start to do some baseball stuff here on this road trip. I think at the end of the road trip maybe there’s a little bit of swinging, a little bit of fungoes.”
MLB releases playoff schedule
Both American League Division Series will begin Oct. 5 and be televised by FS1 or MLB Network, according to the schedule Major League Baseball announced Tuesday.
The AL wild-card game, which if the Astros maintain their AL-best record will determine their ALDS opponent, will be played Oct. 3 and broadcast by ESPN. The National League wildcard game will be played Oct. 4 and be televised by TBS.
The AL Championship Series (Fox/FS1) will start Oct. 13, with the NLCS (TBS) beginning a day later. The first game of the World Series, which will be televised by Fox, is scheduled for Oct. 24. The Fall Classic could again stretch into November. If it requires a Game 7, it would end Nov. 1.
Odds and ends
Lance McCullers Jr. (back), Will Harris (shoulder), Tony Sipp (calf ) and Michael Feliz (shoulder) have either restarted their throwing programs or on the verge of doing so. McCullers and Harris each played catch Monday at Minute Maid Park for the first time since the start of their latest DL stints. Harris played catch again Tuesday. …
Evan Gattis is still feeling symptoms of his concussion, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Gattis might require more than seven days on the concussion disabled list, making it uncertain whether he will join the team on its three-city trip. …
Recent first-round Astros draft pick J.B. Bukauskas, 20, will make his first start for short-season Class A-Tri City on Thursday in the New York-Penn League affiliate’s game. His workload will be limited in his first pro campaign because he’s coming off a full collegiate season. The righthander from the University of North Carolina didn’t make his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League until July 30.