The Astros are bracing for another stretch without Jeremy Peña, and this one looks set to be short-term. Manager Joe Espada said Peña will go on the 10-day injured list with a mild left calf strain, and the team is hoping the absence won’t linger.
Peña felt discomfort in his left leg and was held out of tonight’s loss to the Twins. Even with Houston downplaying the injury, the timeline points to at least a week and a half of recovery.
The All-Star Break is two weeks away, so the Astros could decide to take the cautious route and keep him sidelined until then. Before that pause, though, they still have a major test ahead: a three-game trip to Arlington from June 10-12 against the division-leading Rangers.
This marks Peña’s second IL stint of the year. A right hamstring strain already knocked him out for more than a month from mid-April into May, and he also opened the season playing through a broken finger suffered in the lead-up to the World Baseball Classic.
When he’s been on the field, though, he’s delivered. Peña is hitting .295/.356/.443 and has continued to steady the infield defensively.
With Peña out, Nick Allen got the start at shortstop tonight after just returning from his own IL stint. Allen should hold that job for now, though his value comes more with the glove than the bat.
Houston also optioned Raynel Delgado as the corresponding move to activate Allen, and the club will likely send him back up as an extra infielder once Braden Shewmake is ready. Shewmake has been sidelined all June with an adductor strain.
In Other News...
Astros May Finally Break Their Draft Habit For A Risky Need
The Astros have built a clear draft identity over the years, leaning toward college position players in the first round and usually steering away from the kind of risky, high-variance arm that can take time to shape. That is why the current chatter around a potential shift is worth noting, especially for a club that has generally preferred certainty over projection when the board starts to thin.
Liam Peterson brings the kind of stuff that can tempt a team to break from habit, with a fastball that lives in the mid-to-upper 90s and a sharp slider to go with it. The Florida right-hander also comes with the usual warning labels for a pitcher of his profile, since the results in Gainesville have been uneven and the control remains part of the equation, which is exactly why a team like Houston would have to balance upside against patience. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Suddenly Face A Deadline Decision That Could Define This Season
With the Astros sitting third in the AL West at 52-34 and their playoff odds still hovering in uneasy territory, the front office is headed into a deadline stretch that could say a lot about where this season is going. Houston has not looked like a complete club for a while, with an outfield that needs more production and a bullpen that can still use help, and the clock is now ticking toward Aug. 3 as the market starts to narrow.
Jim Crane has never shied away from making a bold move at this time of year, but this one is not simple. The Astros do not have much prospect capital to spend, the farm system is not overflowing with trade chips, and the luxury tax situation limits how far they can push, so Dana Brown has to balance urgency with restraint while trying to fill multiple holes at once. [Read more 🡒]