Wednesday brought the first concrete sign that Carlos Correa’s season might not be over. Manager Joe Espada confirmed doctors have signed off on Correa resuming bat work, following a Tuesday medical evaluation.
It’s a small step in practical terms—dry swings now, with a tee and soft toss still weeks away—but it carries symbolic weight for a player whose ankle tendon tore mid-swing back on May 5. Espada pointed to that specifically: Correa is now able to safely repeat the exact motion that caused the original injury, a threshold the team wasn’t sure he’d clear before season’s end.
There’s a real roster wrinkle if this goes anywhere. Third base currently belongs to Isaac Paredes, whose production has quietly made him one of the more valuable everyday players on this roster, batting right behind Yordan Alvarez most nights. Shortstop, Correa’s other option, is Jeremy Peña’s spot without question. Espada isn’t pretending to have an answer yet on how the pieces would fit, calling it a day-to-day process for now.
The math favors patience. Houston’s sitting 2½ games clear in the West with 47 games left, and every extra week the Astros stay in contention buys Correa more runway to actually make it back before the games start mattering most. He’s staying behind in Houston for the upcoming San Diego and San Francisco trip to keep working rather than traveling with the team.
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