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Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros exited Saturday’s game in the late innings with a side injury.
Jose Altuve left the Houston Astros’ game against the Texas Rangers on Saturday after visibly grabbing his left side during a troubling late-game sequence that immediately raised concerns about the veteran star’s health.
The alarming moment came after Altuve appeared unable to run out a double-play ball, with Houston pulling the longtime franchise cornerstone before the ninth inning and awaiting further medical evaluation on what could become a major injury concern for the Astros.
The telling sign arrived in the eighth inning, when Altuve grounded into a double play and made no attempt to sprint toward first base — a jarring image for a player whose relentless hustle has defined his career. Dallas Morning News beat writer Evan Grant flagged the moment on social media, noting that Altuve walked off the field clutching his left side.
Altuve’s Injury and What Happened vs. Texas Rangers
After the game, the situation became clearer.
“Jose Altuve felt something on his left side on that last swing,” SportsNet Southwest field reporter Julia Morales reported. “Will get imaging done tomorrow.”
Prior to his exit, Altuve went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run. The performance would have looked just fine, except that the manner of his departure reframed the afternoon entirely, according to MLB.com‘s Brian McTaggart, who first reported the left side classification. Nick Allen replaced Altuve at second base for the remainder of the game.
Left side injuries for hitters typically involve the oblique muscle and are among the most disruptive ailments in baseball. The oblique, or side muscles, power every swing a hitter takes, meaning even a mild strain can render a player unable to produce at the plate long before he is technically cleared to play. Recovery timelines are often unpredictable, ranging from a brief absence to a multi-week IL stint depending on the severity of the strain or a tear. This is not the first time Altuve has dealt with a side injury. He missed about three weeks of the 2023 season with a strained oblique before returning to form.
Altuve’s Career, Stats and Hall of Fame Case
Whatever the imaging reveals, this is a player Houston is never comfortable losing for any meaningful stretch. Altuve, born May 6, 1990, in Maracay, Venezuela, has been the franchise’s face for well over a decade, locking himself in with a five-year, $125 million extension signed in February 2024.
The career résumé reads like a Hall of Fame application. Altuve is a nine-time All-Star, a 2017 American League MVP and a World Series champion. His 2017 MVP season, a .346 average with 24 home runs and 32 stolen bases, remains one of the great individual campaigns in Astros history. He is one of just three players in franchise history to accumulate at least 2,000 hits wearing an Astros uniform.
The 2026 season has carried some of the wear that comes with being 36. Through Saturday, Altuve was hitting .245 with three home runs, 11 RBI and a .693 OPS, per RotoWire. He also underwent a minor foot procedure last November. The Astros now wait on imaging results that could define the next chapter of a difficult season for Houston.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin