Houston Astros fans disappointed as Jose Altuve goes on injured list with sore oblique: "I blame the World Baseball Classic" "Rest, oh little king"

The Houston Astros have placed second baseman Jose Altuve on the 10-day injured list due to left oblique discomfort.

Altuve was a late scratch from Tuesday's 6-4 win against the Colorado Rockies after tweaking his oblique while taking batting practice. After the game, Houston general manager Dana Brown told reporters the soreness was not as bad as what Altuve experienced earlier this season. He said:

"I don't think there's any rush to bring him back. Sometimes the best thing is rest. And so I think right now it would be my opinion, strong opinion, as to just giving him some rest and let it play out."

However, with the All-Star break coming up, the decision was made to place Altuve on the IL.

The Houston Astros placed Jose Altuve on the IL after reviewing the test results from an MRI performed on Wednesday.

Since Altuve has not played since Monday, an IL trip could be made retroactive to Tuesday. That would make him eligible to return to the team's lineup for its first post-All Star game on July 14 against the Los Angeles Angels.

Jose Altuve sat out the beginning of the season due to a fractured right thumb suffered while playing in the World Baseball Classic. He returned to the lineup on May 19 but sat out from June 3-6 due to a similar oblique injury.

This season, Altuve is batting .264 with six home runs and 18 RBIs.

Altuve has been the on-field leader of the Astros for much of his 13-year MLB career. He won the 2017 American League Most Valuable Player award after leading the majors with a .346 batting average to go with 24 home runs and 81 RBIs. That season also saw the Astros lift the organization's first World Series championship.

Altuve joins quite a list of Houston Astros players on the IL. In addition to Altuve, designated hitter Michael Brantley, left fielder Yordan Alvarez, as well as starting pitchers Jose Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. are all key members of the Houston roster currently out of action.

Jose Altuve an important cog for Houston Astros

Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros slides in to score.

Although he's batting 42 points lower than his career average of .306, Altuve remains an important cog for the Astros. He is signed to a seven-year, $163.5 million contract that runs through next season.

Altuve is an eight-time All-Star and a six-time Silver Slugger. He has three AL batting titles and one Gold Glove.