Houston Astros Superstar Played Through Knee Injury at End of Last Season

A Houston Astros slugger reportedly played through a knee injury at the end of the 2024 season, which resulted in a short playoff run.

Sep 22, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez (44) walks off the field after an apparent injury during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Despite winning the American League West by 3 1/2 games, the Houston Astros struggled down the stretch, much like they did coming out of the gate in 2024.

It was a rough season for the Astros, who played to a 13-11 record in September, falling short of their .547 total win percentage, which was also held back by a 25-33 record through the end of May.

The struggles in the twilight of the campaign spilled over into October, where Houston was swept in the Wild Card Series by the Detroit Tigers, marking the first time the team has not made the American League Championship Series since the start of their dynastic run in 2017.

A recent report from Ari Alexander may have shed some light on some of the team's struggles, as the MLB insider tweeted on Thursday that superstar slugger Yordan Alvarez "tweaked his right knee at some point toward the end of the year."

Yordan Alvarez at Astros Caravan stop downtown told reporters his knee is healed, and has felt normal for at least 3-4 weeks.

He tweaked his right knee at some point toward the end of the year.

He said he thought he may have needed surgery, but ended up not needing surgery.…

— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) January 24, 2025

"He said he thought he may have needed surgery, but ended up not needing surgery," reports Alexander. "Yordan says he’s 100% and ready to hit and field at spring training."

Alvarez is a key piece of the Astros offense, with a career 166 OPS+ including a 172 mark in that metric in 2024.

It is believed that the slugger sustained the injury on September 22 against the Los Angeles Angels when he left the game in the third inning after a double off of Griffin Canning. He would not play another game in the regular season.

Alvarez would play in both Wild Card games in October, the first coming 11 days after his last game, and went 2-for-7 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout.

Alvarez’s lifetime slash line of .298/.390/.583/.973 demands that he be kept in the lineup. His 162-game averages of 42 home runs and 120 RBI make him one of the game’s most serious power threats.

Last season he slashed .308/.392/.567/.959 with 35 home runs and 86 RBI. With the injuries in 2022, he actually posted similar numbers — .293/.407/.583/.990 with 31 home runs and 97 RBI.

Manager Joe Espada has already talked this season about trying to keep Alvarez fresh this season. The All-Star has already played twice as many games at designated hitter (418) than he has in the outfield (200) for his career. Last year he played 94 games at DH and 53 in the outfield. That is the widest split since 2021, when he spent 98 games at DH and 41 games in the outfield.