Gurriel out for 6 weeks after hand procedure
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel will miss six weeks recovering from surgery that removed the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday.
The injury, pre-existing but non-symptomatic, likely was aggravated by Gurriel’s swinging a bat, Luhnow said. The general manager added that the surgery, conducted in Houston by Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff at Texas Orthopedic Hospital, “went as expected.”
The team decided to move forward with surgery when the pain
in Gurriel’s left hand became too difficult to play through.
“Once you start feeling something, removing (the hook from the hamate bone) is the right course of action,” Luhnow said. “It’s a pretty reliable surgery, if we know what the outcome is going to be. He should be back to 100 percent once he’s recuperated.
“It’s pretty brief, and once it’s taken care of, it’s not an issue anymore for their career.”
Fractures to the hamate bone are common in baseball. Recoveries typically take around six weeks, but there are notable exceptions. Giancarlo Stanton had the surgery in late June 2015 and missed the rest of the season.
If he returns in six weeks, Gurriel, 33, could be activated from the disabled list on April 11, the finale of a road series against the Twins. After that, he still will have to serve a five-game suspension for making a racially insensitive gesture during the World Series.
The expected recovery period and the suspension set up Gurriel to play in the season’s 18th game on April 17 at Seattle. The Astros expect him to come back to camp this weekend.
Although the Astros had known about Gurriel’s worsening left hand for “a few days,” according to Luhnow, the team was not planning to divulge information about the surgery Wednesday. Gurriel let the world know about his condition on his Instagram account, with a photo of him lying in a bed at Texas Orthopedic Hospital.
“Dios mediante … espero todo salga bien,” Gurriel wrote, which translates to hoping to God “everything goes well.”
“I wasn’t even going to talk about his surgery this morning,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He definitely brought it to the public.”
Said Luhnow, who checked on Gurriel: “He’s in good spirits. This is a minor setback.”
After establishing a career in his native Cuba as one of the best players in the country’s history, Gurriel defected, debuted with the Astros in 2016, and blossomed into a threatening slugger last season. He batted .299 with 18 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Gurriel impressed coaches, scouts and executives around the majors for his exceptional ability to consistently square up pitches. Carlos Correa led the Astros with a 90.4 mph average exit velocity on contact. Gurriel ranked second at 89.7 mph.
Luhnow said he will not go outside the organization to fill the void at first base.
“It will provide an opportunity for somebody to play in the big leagues while Yuli is recuperating,” Luhnow said.
J.D. Davis, A.J. Reed and Tyler White will play the position more in the final month of spring training. They already had been candidates for one of the final opening-day roster spots, created by Gurriel’s suspension.
For weeks, Hinch has discussed his efforts to get more atbats for players caught between Class AAA and the majors. The injury offers them the chance they are seeking.
“It provides a nice opportunity for someone internally,” Luhnow said.