Yordan

Alvarez

There has been some speculation that the Astros could look to trade Alvarez at the deadline this year if they continue to fall out of playoff contention. The idea behind the speculation was that Alvarez would bring in a huge influx of talent for a roster that seems to lack depth, and it would rid the Astros of a defensive logjam created by Alvarez’s being a designated hitter. However, as Brown mentioned, Alvarez is in the fourth year of a six-year, $115 million extension, so there is no pressure on the Astros to trade him. They traded Kyle Tucker when he was heading into his final season, so there may be more reason to trade Alvarez after the 2027 season, if they followed the same path, but he’s not going anywhere for now.

Alvarez greeted rookie Kade Morris rudely in his major league debut with a second inning grand slam to put this game out of reach early. The ball got out in a hurry and nearly landed in the upper deck in right field at Daikin Park in Houston. He now has a 1.084 OPS to lead the league along with 22 home runs, one shy of Kyle Schwaber for the league lead there. If you told someone that Alvarez was the best hitter in baseball right now, they would struggle to argue with it.

Alvarez got the scoring started early, taking Bubba Chandler deep for a two-run homer in the first inning. He later drew a walk in the third, then drove in a run with a base hit in the ninth. The 28-year-old slugger is up to 21 homers while hitting an incredible .305/.419/.645 with 40 runs scored and 42 RBI across 267 plate appearances.

Paredes has been struggling of late, hitting .164 (9-for-55) with three homers and five RBI over his last 15 games. Astros manager Joe Espada has opted to move him down in the order after mostly hitting second in recent weeks. It’ll be red-hot sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker moving up to second and third in the order to pick up a few additional at-bats with Taylor Trammell moving into the cleanup spot.

Alvarez hit his 19th and 20th homers of the season in this one, with his first coming in the third inning off Jacob deGrom to tie the game at 2-2. Alvarez would later hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning off of reliever Tyler Alexander to put the Astros up 3-2. The 28-year-old lefty has been on a tear this month despite slashing just .250/.366/.560. His eight homers being tied for the second-most of any player in May.

Alvarez hit one 449 feet off Jack Leiter and another 422 feet versus Jalen Beeks. He has 18 homers this year and 50 points of OPS on anyone else in the league (1.045 to Ben Rice’s .993).

Alvarez, who was back in Houston’s lineup after missing his first game of the season due to a minor back issue over the weekend, mashed a 415-foot no-doubter to right-center field off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Clearly, he’s feeling just fine from a physical standpoint. The 28-year-old run-producing force is hitting .301/.415/.606 with 32 runs scored, 16 homers, 33 RBI and one stolen base through 54 games this season.

Alvarez is back at DH and hitting third following a brief one-game absence due to back discomfort. The 28-year-old middle-of-the-order force is hitting .208 (15-for-72) with three homers and four RBI in 21 games since the start of May. Back issues can be tricky and sometimes recurring, but there doesn’t appear to be significant concern moving forward, which is a relief for fantasy managers.

It should be noted that the Astros planned to give Alvarez a day off on Sunday, even before he exited Saturday’s game due to discomfort in his back. Fantasy managers should be sure to have a contingency option in place for next week though in the event that the oft-injured slugger is forced to miss a couple of games.

Alvarez told reporters that he won’t be in the lineup for the tilt against Chicago, but he cautioned reporters that Sunday was a scheduled day off for the slugger. The 28-year-old exited with back discomfort during Saturday’s game against the Cubs, but it sounds like this was more of a precaution than a serious injury. It’s something fantasy managers do have to keep a close eye on from a player who has dealt with injuries over the past few campaigns.