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The Astros were dealt a huge blow Tuesday afternoon, as Carlos Correa was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a torn ligament in his left thumb. Correa will undergo surgery to repair the ligament and will be out for six to eight weeks, as first reported by Fox' Ken Rosenthal.
Correa, who jammed the same thumb on a slide attempt on July 4, has been a major part of the Astros' American League-leading 62 wins. He's produced stronger power numbers than ever before, already matching his 2016 home run total of 20 in 185 fewer plate appearances. Paired with strong defense, Correa, 22, is one of the league's most talented young stars and was selected to his first all-star game earlier this month.
In the meantime, Houston will look to infielder Marwin Gonzalez to fill the shorstop void. Gonzalez has had an All-Star worthy campaign himself, producing an .973 OPS in 274 plate appearances so far in 2017. He's proved extremely versatile for the first-place Astros, appearing everywhere on the diamond except as a catcher, pitcher or center fielder this year. Houston's lineup is one of the deepest in all of baseball, and strong showings from Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel in recent months leave little worry of a second-half collapse.
Correa, 22, was the first overall pick in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft and won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2015. He is expected to be back in time for the postseason, so Houston won’t pursue a replacement at the trade deadline.