Alvarez’s role proves to only be mere cameo
DENVER — Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez will undergo season-ending knee surgery next week to repair a partial tear of his patella tendon, manager Dusty Baker revealed Wednesday.
The diagnosis provides some finality for Alvarez, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year who has combated persistent and mysterious knee pain throughout his 89-game major league career. Baker expressed optimism that Alvarez will be ready for spring training next February.
This past February, Alvarez told the Chronicle he “tried to manage (the pain) as best as I could” throughout the 2019 season. Alvarez still struck 27 home runs, the most by a rookie in franchise history, and was unanimously voted the American League Rookie of the Year.
Alvarez missed the first 18 games of this season while battling COVID-19. He appeared in two games before more knee pain forced him to the injured list Tuesday.
“You know it’s been bothering him for a while,” Baker said. “The diagnosis was different this time than in spring training.”
Alvarez was unavailable to reporters Wednesday. Baker said he spoke with the 23-year-old slugger Tuesday. According to Baker, Alvarez’s spirits “weren’t real good.”
“I asked him how did he feel, and he told me he felt poorly,” Baker said. “That’s about all that he said.”
Specifics surrounding Alvarez’s injury had been scant and spanned two Astros regimes.
Former manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow never divulged a reason or diagnosis for Alvarez’s discomfort. Alvarez was sidelined for most of Grapefruit League play this spring with ambiguous soreness. General manager James Click said in February that Alvarez had undergone an MRI that came back clean.
Alvarez underwent an MRI on Monday, too. According to Baker, that revealed no structural damage. The manager said Alvarez sought a second opinion Tuesday.
“Sometimes the MRIs and the scans don’t show everything,” Baker said Wednesday. “You hope that they do, but sometimes they don’t.”
Alvarez’s 2020 season contained just nine plate appearances. His first ended with a threerun homer into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park on Friday, inviting optimism that his arrival could energize a lethargic Astros lineup.
Baker moved Alvarez into the cleanup spot for Saturday’s game against the Mariners. He went 1-for-4 but did not appear comfortable while running the bases. Alvarez went from first base to third on Yuli Gurriel’s second-inning double. His slide into third base “didn’t look real pretty,” according to Baker.
It’s unclear whether the baserunning caused Alvarez to tear the tendon or whether the condition existed beforehand.
“You’re not really sure when it happened or if it just happened through deterioration and time,” Baker said. “We really don’t know when it happened, but this is nothing new. This has been bothering him for a while, so we decided to do something about it now.”
Alvarez’s absence impacts an Astros lineup already struggling to score runs. Houston entered Wednesday’s game against the Rockies with nine runs in its past four outings. George Springer (wrist) and Michael Brantley (quad) are overcoming injuries. Brantley still resides on the injured list and is unavailable at least until Saturday.
Six-time All-Star Jose Altuve ranks among baseball’s worst hitters in 2020. His .517 OPS is fourth-lowest among qualified players. Kyle Tucker, who could now be pressed into more playing time, has just a .577 OPS.
“You just have to do what you have to do and hope you do your best job of mixing and matching and keeping a positive attitude throughout the team,” Baker said.
3 youngsters appear to be options at DH
Accounting for Yordan Alvarez’s absence is an unenviable exercise. Alvarez defines the term designated hitter, a player whose mere presence stokes fear into opposing dugouts. His power is prodigious, perhaps dwarfing his pristine plate discipline. And he is a lefthanded hitter in an Astros lineup littered with superstars who swing righthanded.
“He just brings that fear factor for us in the middle of that lineup,” outfielder Josh Reddick said.
Two games after it arrived, the fear is gone. Alvarez will undergo season-ending knee surgery next week, leaving the Astros in search of an answer at designated hitter. Whether one even exists is a mystery. No candidate boasts anything close to Alvarez’s presence or prowess. The team’s most consistent hitter has made it clear he doesn’t want the job. The youngster who seems most capable has struggled mightily.
“Right now we’re just going to have to mix and match the best that we can — if a guy needs a day off or it depends if it’s rightleft,” manager Dusty Baker said. “Not much different than what we’ve been doing. Just trying to come up with the best lineup daily.”
Baker planned to disperse the designated hitter duties around his lineup, acting as something of a “half day” for his established hitters. Utility man Aledmys Diaz started on opening day after impressing in summer camp, but a strained hamstring removed him from everyday contention.
Michael Brantley’s run-in with Joe Kelly on July 28 altered Baker’s plans entirely. Brantley stepped on Kelly’s foot while legging out an infield single against the Dodgers, leading to quad pain that persisted throughout the next three weeks.
Baker started Brantley at designated hitter during nine of the next 12 games to protect his ailing leg. It proved futile. Brantley’s now on the injured list. He could be activated as early as Saturday. If he is — and if his quad is at 100 percent health — Brantley will be in left field.
Brantley does not like being a designated hitter. In 46 plate appearances this season as a DH, he has a .754 OPS and .385 slugging percentage.
Assuming Baker honors Brantley’s wishes, the designated hitter at-bats might fall to three players: Kyle Tucker, Abraham Toro and Taylor Jones. Because Tucker is lefthanded, Jones is righthanded and Toro switch-hits, Baker can tailor matchups pretty easily depending on that day’s starting pitcher.