HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Yordan Alvarez is on the Astros roster for their wild card series against the Detroit Tigers, but Justin Verlander is not.
Alvarez missed the last six games of the regular season with a sprained right knee. He hit in the cage during Monday's pre-series workout and ran on the field. Astros manager Joe Espada admitted Alvarez is not at 100 percent, but he saw what he needed to see on Monday.
"I wanted to see him hit," Espada said. "I wanted to see him push off and spin on that front side and do things that I'm going to be expecting him to do today, and he did those things well."
Alvarez was the Astros team leader in batting average (.308), home runs (35), and RBI (86) this season, while playing in a career-high 147 games.
The Astros are carrying 15 position players, including Chas McCormick, who did not play after suffering a fractured hand against the Oakland A's on October 10. They will also carry three catchers with Cesar Salazar making the team.
One ommission to Houston's 26-man roster is Justin Verlander. The 41-year old future Hall of Famer won his start Saturday in Cleveland, holding the Guardians to three runs over six innings, but he finished with an 8.10 ERA over the seven starts he made after returning from the injured list.
"It was a very easy conversation," Espada said. "Justin Verlander is a professional. He knows how well our starting pitchers have performed throughout the season, so when we had this conversation, he he was all-in. he'll do what's best for this team."
