MLB
Jose Altuve Undergoes Knee Surgery
According to a report from MLB.com, Jose Altuve underwent knee surgery on his right knee. The exact injury has not been announced. The Astros have not confirmed the surgery.
Altuve injured his knee on a slide into second base against Colorado during their July encounter. The pain, however, never went away. So the 2017 American League MVP was playing through a knee injury for most of the second half this year and into the playoffs. Before the knee injury Altuve was hitting .329 and after hit .276. MLB.com is reporting that right now he should be ready to go for Spring Training next year.
Astros manager AJ Hinch said that Altuve would have been on the disabled list during the playoffs if it was the regular season. Altuve batted .286 during the ALDS against Cleveland and .250 in the ALCS against Boston, where he was the DH for Games 3-5.
During the regular season, the 2017 AL batting champ batted .316 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI’s playing 137 games. This year was his first full season where he didn’t play at least 150 Games.
While we don’t know yet the severity of the procedure, knee surgeries can be tricky. Especially for a player like Altuve. We have seen times where the player is perfectly fine and continues to be a quality player. But, we have also seen times where the knee gets a bit complicated and holds a player back. Depending on the type of procedure, and with a player like Altuve who is such a great all-around talent, it will be interesting to see how the surgically repaired knee holds up. Especially with Altuve’s ability to run and play defense.
With this news out, the ALCS exit could be looked at as a blessing in disguise for the Astros. Now their superstar can get the repairs he needs and the Astros can load up again for another run next season, this time healthy at full strength.
Photo credit to Paul Searing via Flickr
