The Astros are heading into the stretch run of the AL West race with the infield they already have, not the one they hoped they would. Manager Joe Espada told reporters Tuesday that Carlos Correa will not return this season, closing the door on a comeback that four days earlier had Houston's front office mapping out where to play him.
Espada told reporters that Correa did not have a setback, but the workload to get back into game shape was too much for a season that has less than two weeks left.
Correa tore the peroneus brevis tendon in his left ankle in May, a tendon that helps stabilize the outside of the ankle, and needed surgery. He had played just 32 games, with three home runs, 16 RBI and a .369 on-base percentage. He was told then that his season
was over, but he chose not to believe it.
He kept working his way back: running the bases, taking live batting practice and fielding ground balls through the summer. On Sept. 12, a report had the Astros planning to bring him back at second base rather than third, a move that would have pushed Jose Altuve to DH and left Jeremy Pena at shortstop and Isaac Paredes at third.
That plan is dead now.
Houston leads the American League West with a 75-75 record heading into Tuesday night's games, clinging to a division lead more than running away with it. Correa's second half was supposed to help them hold on. Instead, the infield that's gotten them this far is the infield they will go into October with.
Correa is still owed $31.5 million this season on the six-year, $200 million deal he originally signed with the Twins, though Minnesota is covering roughly $10 million of it annually as part of the trade that sent him back to Houston. The man who made the trade to bring back Correa won't be around this October, either.
Owner Jim Crane pushed out Dana Brown on Aug. 24, weeks after Crane reportedly killed a deadline deal Brown wanted for outfielder Trevor Larnach. Crane is running baseball operation himself now, the job split across three assistant GMs and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carlos Correa's 2026 Astros comeback bid ends in Houston injury update
