Astros outfielder/designated hitter seems to have hit another speed bump. General manager Dana Brown informed reporters, including , that Alvarez has been shut down due to some renewed hand sorene s. He will see a specialist at some point in the next 48 Connor Kapisak Jersey hours, at which point the club hopes to have more information. At this point, details are still fairly sparse regarding Alvarez, though its an ominous development. Hand i sues have been an ongoing problem for him. He had sorene s in both hands in 2022 and spent some time on the injured list. Hand sorene s also seemingly hampered him during spring training in 2023. This year, he got out to a bad start, hitting .210/.306/.340 for a 76 wRC+ through 29 games. He landed on the 15-day injured list in early May due to right hand inflammation. At the end of May, Brown relayed that the club found a very small fracture in the ring finger of Alvarezs right hand. He has been ramping up activities in recent days but this renewed sorene s obviously creates concern that hes not fully healed. Time will tell how serious this setback is but its le s than ideal for the Astros. Alvarez has been a key part of their lineup and one of the best hitters in baseball during his career. He came into this season with a .298/.390/.583 batting line and 166 wRC+. Only had a higher wRC+ for the 2019-2024 span, among hitters with at least 60 plate appearances. The Astros would obviously love to have that bat back in the lineup. Thats especially true because he is left-handed and the club is notably deficient in that department. The Astros dont really have a pure lefty in their everyday lineup. Switch-hitters and are getting regular playing time. The three pure lefties on the active roster at present are all bench players: , and . Putting aside handedne s, this also compounds a more general injury problem for the Astros. They have over a dozen players on the IL, including seven position players. They recently lost their starting shortstop when hit the IL last week with a rib fracture. Despite the all of those injuries, the Astros are 50-34. They are six games up in the American League West and will clearly be buying at the deadline. Brown already that the club is looking for lefty bats. That need would only grow if this setback for Alvarez turns out to be significant. The club seems to be planning to avoid the competitive balance tax this year, which will be a challenge in making additions. estimates the clubs CBT number is at $236MM, just $5MM from the base threshold. Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images Jack Koerner Jersey