6:20 p.m.: Álvarez has not tested positive, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). He has traveled to Seattle with the team and could be activated soon, although Baker added he would give Álvarez a few days to get back into shape before adding him to the line-up.
5:45 p.m.: The Astros placed a star outfielder/designated hitter Jordan Alvarez on the COVID-19 injured list, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. It’s not clear if Álvarez has tested positive or is simply showing virus-like symptoms. Square infielder Joe Perez was recalled by Triple-A Sugar Land to take his place on the active roster.
Álvarez has not played since Sunday. He missed the Astros’ two-game set in Arizona this week with an illness manager Dusty Baker described as stomach failure. He will obviously miss at least tonight’s game against the Mariners, with the extent of his absence contingent on whether he tests positive.
Under the league’s 2022 health and safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, although it is possible to be reinstated in a shorter time if the player has gone 24 hours or more without a fever received a pair of negative PCR tests and approval from a team doctor and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed doctor and one union-appointed doctor). If Álvarez is “just” struggling with symptoms, he could be back in less time. Players who test negative can return once their symptoms have cleared, as long as they are cleared by the joint committee and the team doctor.
Álvarez is, of course, one of the best attacking players in the game. The 24-year-old hitter is coming off a .277/.346/.531 with 33 homers in 598 plate appearances. He didn’t get off to a great start this year, amassing two hits and three walks in four games in 17 trips to the court.