{"id":74103,"date":"2024-05-22T13:12:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=74103"},"modified":"2024-05-22T13:12:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:12:25","slug":"astros-chas-mccormick-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/22\/astros-chas-mccormick-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Astros Facing Questions as Injured Outfielder Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"

With injured outfielder Chas McCormick back in the lineup, the Houston Astros are facing questions over their crowded outfield. <\/span>Chas McCormick<\/span><\/a> was back in the Astros lineup on Tuesday after he was sidelined in April with an injured hamstring. McCormick returned to the active roster after finishing a six-game rehab assignment on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

TODAY\u2019S ROSTER MOVE:<\/p>\n

The Astros have reinstated OF Chas McCormick (right hamstring discomfort) from the 10-day IL. To make room for McCormick on the active roster, the Astros optioned OF Trey Cabbage to Triple A.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Houston Astros (@astros) May 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Houston Astros have been plagued with injuries for much of 2024. So, McCormick\u2019s return presents a rare and welcome problem for the Astros: a surplus in the outfield. McCormick has become a regular starter in Houston but was off to a slow start, batting .236 with three extra-base hits over 21 games before injuring his hamstring. Astros manager <\/span>Joe Espada<\/span><\/a> now has the tough task of dividing playing time among several productive outfielders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston <\/span>called up their sixth-ranked prospect<\/span><\/a>, utility man <\/span>Joey Loperfido<\/span><\/a>, to fill the injured outfielder\u2019s spot on the roster. Loperfido has batted .333\/.381\/.436 with a home run and five RBI but carries a 39.5% strikeout percentage through 39 at-bats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jake Meyers<\/span><\/a> has been riding a hot streak, batting .440\/.517\/.760 with two homers over his last seven games. Gold Glove utility man <\/span>Mauricio Dub\u00f3n<\/span><\/a> has been one of Houston’s most consistent hitters, so ensuring he\u2019s in the lineup is crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chas McCormick Returning to a Crowded Astros Outfield After Injury<\/h3>\n

While McCormick is expected to remain the Astros primary left fielder, his spot in the starting lineup isn\u2019t guaranteed. He is one of four outfielders battling for playing time in an outfield with just two open spots. Right field belongs to <\/span>Kyle Tucker<\/span><\/a>, and on days when <\/span>Yordan \u00c1lvarez<\/span><\/a> starts in left, center field is the only position available for the other four outfielders.<\/span><\/p>\n

McCormick, 29,\u00a0 went 5-for-23 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base through his six rehab starts. He hasn’t quite been as productive this year, and he knows it. While McCormick won\u2019t blame his tough start on his hamstring, he realizes that his timing was off. He said on Tuesday that his timing at the plate and his swing felt \u201ca little better from earlier in the year\u201d after his rehab stint.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Chas McCormick: “If I could get my power back we\u2019re going to be in really good shape. I can help this team win. That\u2019s my job. I need to be able to help this team win or I\u2019m not going to play.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Espada said the Astros plan to \u201ccontrol the volume\u201d of McCormick\u2019s playing time as he works his way back to avoid reinjuring his hamstring. Houston was 10-19 when Chas McCormick went on the injured list, but now sits just five games under .500 at 22-27 after winning 10 of their last 13 games.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With injured outfielder Chas McCormick back in the lineup, the Houston Astros are facing questions over their crowded outfield. Chas McCormick was back in the Astros lineup on Tuesday after he was sidelined in April with an injured hamstring. McCormick returned to the active roster after finishing a six-game rehab assignment on Sunday.   TODAY\u2019S […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4975,"featured_media":74118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1071],"tags":[5107,1731,28459,2319,777,2725],"class_list":["post-74103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-mlb","tag-jake-meyers","tag-joe-espada","tag-joey-loperfido","tag-kyle-tucker","tag-mauricio-dubon","tag-yordan-alvarez"],"modified_by":"Chris Drosehn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4975"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}