The Houston Astros placed star second baseman Jose Altuve on the 10-day injured list due to left oblique discomfort.
The Astros recalled right-hander Ronel Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land to start Thursday’s game against the Seattle Mariners. They also called up infielder David Hensley from the Triple-A club and optioned left-hander Parker Mushinski to Sugar Land after Houston’s 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
Altuve, 33, has missed two games since tweaking his left oblique during batting practice on Tuesday. He missed four games last month with an oblique issue but avoided a trip to the injured list.
He is batting .264 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 32 games this season. Altuve missed the first 43 games of the season with fractured right thumb, an injury sustained at the World Baseball Classic.
An eight-time All-Star and three-time batting champ, Altuve is a career .306 hitter with 198 homers and 714 RBIs in 1,610 games over 13 seasons with the Astros. He was the American League MVP in 2017 when he hit .346.
Blanco, 29, is 2-0 with a 4.73 ERA in 14 appearances (five starts) this season with the Astros.
Hensley, 27, is batting .130 with one homer and three RBIs in 26 games this season with Houston.
Mushinski, 27, is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in four relief appearances this season with the Astros.
–Field Level Media