has been on the Astros 10-day injured list since May 3 due to inflammation in his right hand, and the slugger was thought to be nearing a return to the lineup as early as today. However, Alvarez has now been shut down from swinging due to what GM Dana Brown described as a very small fracture in the ring finger of Alvarezs hand. The fracture was discovered after a live batting practice se sion on Friday, as Alvarez left the se sion feeling some discomfort in his hand. Imaging found a fracture that is already about 60 percent healed, Brown said, and surgery wont be required. Though the GM said Alvarez might still be back in the near future and will continue other baseball activities besides hitting, this more serious injury raises new questions about exactly how long one of the leagues top hitters will be sidelined. Hand problems have long been an i sue for Alvarez, though his past hand-related injuries have also been just related to inflammation and sorene s, rather than structural Lucas Gilbreath Jersey problems. Alvarez had yet to get going (a .210/.306/.340 slash line in 121 plate appearances) at the time of his IL placement, but the three-time All-Star has traditionally been a bit of a slow starter. It speaks to Alvarezs high standards that a career .265/.350/.488 slash line in March and April counts as his weakest performance in any month of the regular season, though obviously his numbers this year were well below his past March/April production. Houstons lineup has still managed to post roughly middle-of-the-pack numbers even with Alvarez either struggling or absent, not to mention a lack of production from such regulars as and . Despite also dealing with several pitchers on the IL, the Astros are still in first place in the AL West, so another trip to the playoffs (or another deep run) certainly seems plausible if Houston can get everyone healthy and on track. An in-form Alvarez would naturally be a major piece of that puzzle, but his IL stint will now stretch into June. As noted by , Alvarezs situation shares some similarities with Kyle Tuckers injury absence from last season. Initial testing of what seemed to be a bone bruise in Tuckers shin mi sed a small fracture, and Tucker ended up mi sing over three months of the regular season. As with Tucker, Brown said that the amount of inflammation resulted in Alvarezs fracture being overlooked by the first images, though an MRI did correctly diagnose a muscle strain. I think you dont see the calcium buildup until like five weeks or so and thats part of the problem , Brown said. And then when you do these imagings and you have so much fluid and inflammation, its very, very difficult to diagnose these. And this is for the profe sionals that do it, its very difficult. And even with multiple opinions, its very difficult to see . Ashton Goudeau Jersey