Carlos Correa injury update: Out 6-8 weeks with torn thumb ligament
The Houston Astros will be without All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa for up to two months.
For the second time this season, a Major League Baseball superstar is hitting the disabled list with a torn thumb ligament. Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa joins Mike Trout in suffering the thumb injury. Correa left Monday night’s game in the fourth inning after re-injuring his thumb on a swing.
Astros have placed Carlos Correa on the 10-day disabled list with a torn ligament in his left thumb. He is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks.
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 18, 2017
Correa had initially injured his thumb while sliding headfirst into home plate in a July 4 contest against the Atlanta Braves. He jammed his hand into the shin guard of Braves catcher Tyler Flowers. Correa had hoped that the All-Star break would give his thumb time to heal.
"“Losing a player of Carlos’ caliber for an extended period is a big blow to our club, but I believe we have the roster to persevere and continue to win games,” said GM Jeff Luhnow in a press release announcing the news. “We do expect Carlos to return to the club in September and be ready to contribute down the stretch.”"
Trout also injured his thumb sliding headfirst, which leads to the easy conclusion that sliding into any base headfirst is probably a bad idea.
Thinking about Trout's potential injury reminds me of writing about head first slides two years ago:https://t.co/EggNqVjmVM pic.twitter.com/52UqSPZOk6
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) May 29, 2017
With Correa headed to the DL, the Astros have called up infielder Colin Moran to take his place. Correa was batting .320/.400/.556 on the year with 20 home runs and 67 RBI. He was on track for over 30 home runs and 100 RBI for the first time in his career. Missing an extended period of time will cost him a shot at the AL MVP. Moran has not played in the big leagues yet this year, but was batting .308/.373/.543 at Triple-A this year with 18 home runs.
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Losing Correa for any period of time is a big blow to the Astros, but will not derail their World Series hopes. Houston has already rolled up a 15.5-game lead in the AL West that is insurmountable. Ace Dallas Keuchel is working his way back from a neck injury and is making rehab starts with an eye on returning before the end of July. If his recovery goes well, Correa will be in line to return by early September, which should give him more than enough time to regain his stroke at the plate before the playoffs.