Houston Astros

Yordan Alvarez

DH

Alvarez is already up to a career-high 637 plate appearances on the season and has gone 7-for-33 (.212) with one home run, two RBI and 10 strikeouts in September. He'll get a rest day for Friday's series opener, with Jose Altuve serving as the designated hitter and Nick Allen drawing the start at second base.

Mike Burrows

SP

Burrows' move to the 60-day IL opens a 40-man roster spot for Jorge Barrosa, who was claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks. While this transaction itself does not take Burrows out through the remainder of the regular season, he recently experienced a setback with his shoulder while rehabbing an elbow injury at Triple-A, and it's unclear at this point if he will make it back in 2026.

Steven Okert

RP

It's unclear when Okert was hurt, but he hasn't pitched since Monday. He's been dynamite out of the Houston bullpen this season, logging a 2.13 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 68:14 K:BB over 67.2 innings. Bryan King will absorb Okert's spot on the roster and in the bullpen.

Carlos Correa

SS

Coming back from left ankle surgery, Correa said Tuesday that he's been sprinting at 95 percent effort, fielding grounders and doing everything hitting-wise aside from facing live pitching. He is due to face live pitching in Florida and will also progress to running the bases and sliding. It was presumed when he had surgery in May that Correa's season was over, but he has a real chance to return later this month.

Brice Matthews

CF

Per MLB.com, Matthews has been cleared to field grounders and hit on the field, but he has yet to resume running at full speed since landing on the injured list July 17 due to a left knee sprain. Before going down with the injury, Matthews had made six starts in center field over a seven-game stretch, but he'll be in search of playing time elsewhere once he returns after Houston acquired Daulton Varsho from Toronto on Monday.