Carlos Correa’s back injury likely will sideline him through the All-Star break.

Astros shortstop Carlos

Correa will not play in the team’s four-game series against the A’s, and according to manager A.J. Hinch ,itis becoming “more and more unlikely” Correa returns before the All-Star break.

Combating lower back stiffness, Correa took ground balls on Monday, his first semblance of baseball activity since being placed on the disabled list June 29. He still is not swinging a bat.

“He’s got to start doing a lot more in order for him to get back into playing consideration,” Hinch said Monday. “It seems that it’s more and more unlikely that the weekend is possible, but anything is possible at this point once you start doing some baseball activities.”

Counting the next four games against the A’s, Correa has missed 16 straight games.

“We’re all anxious, he’s anxious, I’m sure fans are anxious,” Hinch said. “But he’s not going to play until all of this is resolved.”

Whitley to be put on minor league DL

After exiting his last start with an oblique injury, Forrest Whitley will be placed on the minor league disabled list, Astros general manager

Jeff Luhnow said. Luhnow did not provide a timetable for a return but said the club hopes its No. 1 overall prospect won’t miss “more than a couple weeks.”

Whitley exited his start on Friday after throwing 17 pitches in the first inning, gesturing to his left side when a trainer met him on the mound. On Monday in Houston, he visited team doctors, who determined the injury to be a “mild strain.”

The injury will prevent Whitley from pitching in the Futures Game on Sunday in Washington D.C. He and Yordan Alvarez were the two Astros representatives selected to the prestigious event.

In six Class AA starts this season, opponents are hitting .179 against Whitley. He has 30 strikeouts in 21 innings and a 4.79 ERA.