The World Baseball Classic has claimed another victim.
On the heels of a heartbreaking injury that likely ended Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s season, the Astros will be without star second baseman Jose Altuve for a while as he’ll need surgery on the broken thumb he suffered Saturday at the WBC.
Altuve, playing for Venezuela, was hit by a pitch on the hand and will undergo surgery after the swelling subsides.
The Astros do not currently have a timetable for him to return, although USA Today reported that Altuve could miss at least two months.
“It’s a massive blow,” Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters.
“You can’t replace a player like this, this close to the season. These players don’t exist. You just can’t go out and replace this type of a player.”
Altuve, 32, seemed to be handling the injury as well as he could.
“I’m pretty good,” he said, per the Houston Chronicle. “I’m just going to go home, focus on whatever we need to do, stay with the team in the season, and root for them.”
The Astros have potential options both internally and externally as they look to replace Altuve.
Internally, Mauricio Dubón and David Hensley are solid defensive options but are poor offensive contributors.
Andrelton Simmons and Jonathan Villar are players available on the free-agent market, while the Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa could make sense if they seek a trade.
Altuve has been the mainstay of the Astros, never playing fewer than 124 games in an individual campaign since 2012.
2022 was one of the best seasons of Altuve’s career.
The former MVP hit .300 with 28 home runs, 18 stolen bases, 103 runs and 39 doubles while walking a career-high 10.9 percent of the time.