Yordan Alvarez Injury Update: Health status and recovery time for Astros slugger on IL

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique injury on June 9, has begun doing physical activity on the field.

As reported by Chandler Rome, the Astros beat reporter for The Athletic, Alvarez was on the field at Minute Maid Field on Monday doing some "stretch and stride" with some of the team's relief pitchers. Rome reported that it was the first sign of any physical activity he's done since injuring the oblique.

Yordan Alvarez, one of the key components of the Astros' offense, was leading MLB with 55 RBIs at the time of his placement on the IL. He was batting .272 with 17 home runs in 57 games at the time of the injury.

The 25-year-old Cuban was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2019 and placed third in the AL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge in 2022.

Alvarez began feeling pain while serving as the Houston Astros designated hitter in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 8. He was lifted from the game after just one at-bat before going on the IL the next day.

The loss of Alvarez put a big dent in the Astros' lineup. As manager Dusty Baker told reporters on June 9:

"It's not easy to figure it out, but we'll make adjustments. You don't have a choice, you just have to go forward."

Houston Astros carrying on without Yordan Alvarez

Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros swings against the Toronto Blue Jays

Without Alvarez, the Astros are hanging tough in the AL West. Houston remains 5.5 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers after losing seven of the last 10 games. The defending World Series champions are one game behind second-placed Los Angeles Angels in the division standings with a record of 39-33 entering Monday's game.