Astros Reveal Reason Behind Yordan Alvarez's Unexpected Absence on Sunday

The Houston Astros are set to conclude their series with the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. It was revealed prior to the game that star Yordan Alvarez wouldn't be in the lineup, though, and the Houston Chronicle's Danielle Lerner even reported the likely All-Star wasn't with the team at all.

This immediately sent fans into a frenzy with questions and concerns about the DH, especially with the looming trade deadline. Thankfully, the Astros have provide clarity on the star's absence.

Yordan Alvarez Injury Update

Alvarez will miss Sunday's series finale, as well as the next six games, due to his nagging hand injury. The issue first popped up in mid-June and caused him to miss a couple of contests. With the problem resurfacing, Houston wants to utilize the All-Star break to get its MVP candidate back to 100%.

This is the smart approach for the Astros as they gear up for a postseason run in the second half of the season. Missing Alvarez for any stretch of time definitely hurts, but getting him as close to fully recovered as possible is the right decision.

The 25-year-old has caught fire after a slow start, racking up 26 home runs and 60 RBIs over 75 games. He currently leads the AL in slugging percentage (.653) and OPS (1.058) while batting .306.

Assuming his recovery goes according to the initial plan, Alvarez would return to the lineup on June 21 to face the New York Yankees.

Isaiah De Los Santos is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Isaiah De Los Santos also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zayyy05328. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.