Carlos Correa isn’t closing the door. Speaking with reporters Saturday for the first time since his ankle surgery, the Astros third baseman said he hasn’t given up on the idea of playing again before the year is out.
“We’ll see,” Correa said when asked directly about the possibility. “I wouldn’t be doing all this work if I didn’t think there was a chance.”
Correa tore the peroneus brevis tendon in his left ankle May 5 while taking pregame swings in the batting cage at Daikin Park, an injury he described at the time as happening on a “normal swing.” Surgery followed the next day, and the team initially projected a six-to-eight-month recovery, effectively ending his season before it could continue. General manager Dana Brown was blunt about the blow it dealt a roster he still considered capable of contending.
Less than three months later, Correa says he’s running at 80-to-90 percent. He worked on the field during Houston’s pregame routine Saturday and did fielding drills Friday with infield coach Tony Perezchica. He has a doctor’s appointment Tuesday that could clear him to begin hitting, the next major step in his rehab. Correa described himself as feeling essentially pain-free at this stage, crediting a detailed personal recovery plan built around specific changes to his diet, sleep, and treatment regimen that he researched right after getting hurt.
Manager Joe Espada has been more cautious publicly, saying only that Correa “looks really good” while declining to speculate on a timetable. Any return remains unconfirmed and difficult to project, and Correa himself did not offer one Saturday.
Correa appeared in 32 games before the injury, hitting .279 with three home runs, 16 RBIs, and a .369 on-base percentage, splitting time roughly evenly between third base and shortstop as Houston shuffled its infield around Jeremy Peña’s own absences.
He’s back with the organization that drafted him first overall in 2012 and that he helped lead to a World Series title in 2017, following a trade-deadline reunion with the Twins last summer. He’s owed $31.5 million this season, $30.5 million in 2027, and $30 million in 2028, with Minnesota still responsible for $10 million annually toward that total through 2028 as part of the trade terms.
Houston’s recent surge hasn’t been lost on him, either. The Astros climbed into first place in the AL West this weekend, winners of nine of their last 10 games after sitting 11 games under .500 as recently as May 21.
“The way we’ve been playing lately definitely motivates me even more to go out there and put in the work to try to make it back,” Correa said. “So we’ll take it day by day.”
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