(HOUSTON) SportsRadio 610 -- Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez will miss the rest of the 2020 season with a partial tear in the patellar tendon of his right knee, manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday.
Alvarez is scheduled to undergo surgery next week. Baker said Alvarez is expected to make a full recovery.
“It’s been bothering him for a while,” Baker said on a Zoom conference. “The diagnosis was different this time than in spring training. So, you’re not really sure when it happened, or if it happened with deterioration in time. We really don’t know when it happened, but this is nothing new. This has been bothering him for a while.”
Alvarez was the unanimous American League Rookie of the Year in 2019. He was unable to participate in summer camp last month due to testing positive for the coronavirus.
Once he tested negative, Alvarez trained at the team’s alternate site in Corpus Christi.
Alvarez returned to the Astros’ lineup last Friday and hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat, seemingly picking up where he left off last season.
But his base-running over the weekend showed signs of concern. Alvarez was scratched from Sunday’s lineup with knee soreness and has been shelved since going 1-for-4 on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners.
Baker said he spoke with Alvarez on Tuesday. Alvarez, who is normally quiet, was even more so when he talked with Baker.
The skipper believes this is the first operation for the 23-year-old Alvarez.
There is no long term plan to replace Alvarez as the designated hitter, Baker said. The Astros are taking it day-to-day, given the prevalence of injuries this season.