Houston Astros
AL West
Grae Kessinger suffered a right leg injury in Monday's game against the Marlins. (Source: Brian McTaggart on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Kessinger suffered the injury after running the bases and scoring on a hit by Yordan Alvarez. The Astros should provide an update on his status later in the week.
Category: Injury Updates
Astros OF Yordan Alvarez left Monday’s game early. (Source: Chandler Rome on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: There is no word yet on if Alvarez has suffered an injury, but the team should provide an update after the game. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.
Category: Injury Updates
Astros SP Jose Urquidy has been diagnosed with a forearm strain and will not be available for the start of the season. (Source: Matt Kawahara on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: Urquidy will be shut down from throwing and will not be in the Opening Day rotation. The Astros have multiple injuries to their starting rotation and are expected to continue to look outside of the organization for depth.
Category: Injury Updates
Cristian Javier will start the second game of the season for the Astros. (Source: Chandler Rome on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Javier will fall Framber Valdez in the starting rotation for Houston. He posted a 1.80 ERA across 10 innings in Spring Training.
Jose Abreu is back in the Astros lineup on Sunday.
Fantasy Impact: Abreu had missed the past week due to right knee soreness.
Category: Injury Updates
Astros SP Framber Valdez has been named the team’s Opening Day starter. (Source: Chandler Rome on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: Valdez is coming off a solid season in which he posted a 3.45 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 200 strikeouts over 198 innings pitched. The 30-year-old veteran will remain a solid option for fantasy managers in 2024.
Justin Verlander is close to facing live hitters. (Source: Matt Kawahara on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Verlander is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday. If all goes well, his next time throwing will be against hitters. It appears Verlander won't miss much of the season.
Category: Injury Updates
Wed, Mar 13th 11:20pm EDT
By Ari Koslow
J.P. France is scheduled to make his first Grapefruit League start Saturday against the Mets. (Source: Matt Kawahara on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: France is tentatively scheduled for three innings and 50 pitches. He has a chance to be healthy for the start of the season barring any setbacks.
Category: Injury Updates
Forrest Whitley is scheduled to resume playing catch on Tuesday. (Source: Brian McTaggart on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Whitley had been scheduled to throw live batting practice last week when he began to have inflammation in his middle finger. He'll look to work his way back onto the mound soon.
Category: Injury Updates
Dixon Machado has Grade 2 quad strain and will miss several weeks. (Source: Brian McTaggart on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Machado may be forced to miss the remainder of camp. He will open the season in Triple-A.
Category: Injury Updates
Zach Dezenzo is playing in Grapefruit League games, but not hitting. (Source: Brian McTaggart on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Dezenzo has still gotten into game action as a defender. He impressed last season between High-A and Double-A in the Astros organization.
Category: Injury Updates
Astros manager Joe Espada said Ronel Blanco will start in the team's Cactus League opener on Saturday. (Source: Chandler Rome on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Espada added that the Astros starters will play early and often in the Spring Training games. He also said Dylan Coleman is among the relievers scheduled to follow Blanco on Saturday.
Jeremy Pena made adjustments to his swing mechanics this offseason. (Source: Brian McTaggart on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: "I’m starting the bat from a still position on my shoulder, but I’m still doing some kind of movement with the hands as I’m going," Pena said. "I’m not completely getting rid of the wag; It’s just kind of controlling it a little bit more." He'll hope to benefit at the plate this season with these adjustments.
The Padres have traded Oliver Carrillo to the Astros in exchange for international bonus pool money. (Source: Francys Romero on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Carrillo previously spent time with the summer league club in Dominican Club affiliated with the Padres. He is a future add for the Astros organization.
Category: Transactions
Astros manager Joe Espada confirmed Josh Hader will pitch the ninth inning when he and Ryan Pressly are both available. (Source: Matt Kawahara on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Hader signed a five-year deal with Houston this offseason. Pressly will certainly still see some save opportunities, but overall it'll be Hader's job to open the season.
Houston Astros pitcher Luis Garcia (elbow) is on track to return in the second half of the 2024 season. (Source: Jon Morosi on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Garcia's 2023 season was limited to just six starts as he underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow on May 19. The right-hander has been very good in his young career, working to a 3.61 ERA across 69 outings (63 starts) and made 28 starts in back-to-back seasons from 2021-2022 before his ill-fated 2023 campaign.
Category: Injury Updates
Tue, Feb 13th 9:45am EST
By Brenton Kemp
Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers (forearm) is on track to return in the season's second half in 2024. (Source: Jon Morosi on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: McCullers missed the entire 2023 season due to a forearm injury and opted to undergo flexor tendon surgery in June. The oft-injured right-hander is excellent when healthy as he posted a stout 2.27 ERA in eight starts in the 2022 season and owns a 3.48 ERA in 130 big-league appearances, although he's made more than 22 starts in a season just once (28 in 2021).
Category: Injury Updates
The Miami Marlins have claimed pitcher Declan Cronin off waivers from the Houston Astros. (Source: Jordan McPherson on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Cronin has been designated for assignment twice this offseason, once by the White Sox and once by the Astros. He made his MLB debut with the White Sox in 2023, allowing 11 earned runs on three homers and seven walks across 11 innings of work. He also posted a solid 3.83 ERA at the Triple-A level a season ago.
Category: Transactions
The Houston Astros have signed second baseman Jose Altuve to a five-year contract extension worth $125 million. (Source: Jon Heyman on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The deal will kick in in the 2024 season. Altuve has parlayed a couple of big season into his new deal as he raked in 2022 before doing so again in 2023, albeit in just 90 games. He hit .311 with 17 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a .914 OPS across 410 trips to the plate in 2023. He is one of, if not the top second baseman in fantasy baseball ahead of the 2024 season.
Category: Transactions
Houston Astros infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubon has won his arbitration case against the club. (Source: Chandler Rome on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Dubon will earn $3.5 million for the 2024 season versus the $3 million the club had filed for. The 29-year-old appeared in a career-high 132 games in 2023 and hit .278 with 10 home runs, seven stolen bases, and a .720 OPS in that time. His tiny 3.9% BB% lowered his overall production just below the league average, as per his 97 wRC+.
Category: Transactions