BOSTON: Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros celebrates turning a double play to end the 10th inning and finish a 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 3, 2026. Two days later, he tore a tendon in his left ankle and has not played since. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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The Houston Astros are battling for another playoff spot, even without Carlos Correa. Their team leader just might return soon from ankle surgery to join the late-season fun.
Manager Joe Espada told reporters he could “expect him to be ready to go at some point in September,” after an upcoming doctor’s visit.
Espada explained further to Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle: “But so far, all the reports, all the work he’s doing, he continues to improve. And once he gets that doctor visit, maybe we can start cranking up some stuff where we can see him really getting after it on the field.”
Correa has been running sprints, fielding grounders, and taking some batting practice throughout August. Getting hurt while taking BP put the 31-year-old infielder on the operating table in May.
HOUSTON: Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros, sidelined by an injury, meets with children from the Correa Foundation during batting practice before a game against the Miami Marlins at Daikin Park on July 20, 2026. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images)
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He felt something pop while taking a swing before a game at Dodger Stadium on May 5. It was a freak injury, a torn peroneus brevis tendon, and Correa’s recovery time was placed at six to eight months.
That meant his season was over. Most figured that was the 2026 end of the Astros, too. Houston had a 14-22 record at the time.
Yet today, Houston somehow sits atop the AL West standings. Their 66-67 record is on pace to make the Astros the first MLB team to win a division title with a losing mark. The worst record by a division champ was the San Diego Padres’ 82-80 mark to win the 2005 NL West.
Correa thinks he can help the Astros climb past the .500 mark and win the Mild, Mild West or possibly secure a wild-card berth.
“I wouldn’t be doing all this work if I didn’t think there was a chance,” Correa told The Athletic earlier this month.
Correa has nearly as many things in his way as the Astros do with or without him. He’ll have to be cleared by doctors to proceed to playing and then will need several minor-league rehab games.
Bouncing Back
Astros fans hope Correa returns as well as he did after fracturing his right fibula and sustaining severe ligament damage to his right ankle on June 21, 2014, on a slide into third base during a minor league game for the High-A Lancaster (CA) JetHawks.
A year later, he was the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year after helping Houston to the first of nine trips to the playoffs in 10 years.
Correa has overcome other ankle ailments, too. On July 11, 2025, he was helped off the field with a right ankle sprain while playing for the Minnesota Twins. That he was with the Twins was due to his 2014 injury.
MINNEAPOLIS: Carlos Correa of the Minnesota Twins is helped off the field after spraining his right ankle against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Target Field on July 11, 2025. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
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Correa left the Astros after the 2021 World Series and signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with Minnesota. He opted out of the deal after one season and signed with San Francisco for a whopping $350 million over 13 years. The Giants cancelled the contract after a physical, citing concerns over the 2014 ankle injury.
A few days later, Correa agreed to a 12-year, $315 million deal with the New York Mets that was never signed. The Mets backed out, too, over ankle exams.
He finally signed a six-year, $200 million contract with Minnesota.
At the 2025 trade deadline, the Twins traded him back to Houston to unload his hefty salary. Correa hit .290 in 51 games for Houston after the deal. Insurance issues kept him from playing in the 2026 World Baseball Classic this past March, but he was hitting .279 in 32 games when hurt in May.
Astros’ Brightest Star
Correa was anointed as Astros aristocracy the day Houston made him the first overall pick of the 2012 MLB Draft and signed him for $4.8 million. A year out of high school, he hit .320 at Quad Cities (IA) in 2013 and was batting .325 at Lancaster in ’14 when he tore up his right leg.
He got even better in 2015, hitting a combined .335 at Double-A Corpus Christi (TX) and Triple-A Fresno (CA) to earn a call to the big leagues at age 20.
CHICAGO: Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros hits a two run home run, the first of his MLB career, against the Chicago White Sox on June 9, 2015 at U.S. Cellular Field. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
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Correa got an RBI single in his second career at-bat on June 8, 2015, against the Chicago White Sox, off one of the toughest pitchers in the game, Chris Sale. He got his first homer off Zach Duke the next night.
A star was born and embraced by Texans with the same reverence and zeal held for the star on the state flag of “The Lone Star State”.
Correa hit .279 with 22 homers and 68 RBI in 99 games as a rookie. The 22 homers are tied for 14th-most by a 20-year-old with Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and Giancarlo Stanton. Hall of Famer Mel Ott hit 42 at that age in 1929 for the New York Giants to lead the list.
After going 0-for-4 in a wild-card win over the New York Yankees, Correa hit .350 with two homers in a five-game AL Division Series loss to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
Correa loves playing in the playoffs. His teams have won 12 of 18 post-season series and he has hit .282 with 18 homers and 63 RBI in 85 playoff games.
What’s Next For Houston Astros?
It has been a wild 2026 in Houston with numerous injuries, the recent dismissal of General Manager Dana Brown and Yordan Alvarez’s run at winning a Triple Crown and MVP Award.
HOUSTON: Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros hits a grand slam home run against the Athletics at Daikin Park on June 6, 2026. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images)
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The left-handed slugger has almost single-handedly kept the Astros in the race. He leads the AL in homers (36), RBI (91) and batting average (.322). The 29-year-old has hit .372 with 20 homers and 52 RBI in 68 home games.
The Astros have been decimated by injuries at various times to Correa, shortstop Jeremy Pena, catcher Yainer Diaz, closer Josh Hader and many others. A total of 27 Astros have made 30 trips to the injured list, missing 1,516 days, according to Spotrac.com. They have used 57 different batters, seventh most in MLB, and 33 pitchers, tied for eighth most.
Houston is 24-14 against clubs with sub-.500 records. After tonight’s game against the Yankees, only 12 of the Astros’ 28 remaining games are against clubs with losing records.
The Astros were counted out by mid-season, but got off the canvas and back into contention by winning 11 of 12 from July 20 to August 2. That came right before the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline, though Houston made only one major addition by getting outfielder Daulton Varsho from Toronto.
Could Correa carry them to a similar September stretch? If so, the Houston Astros will be playing post-season baseball for the 10th time in 12 years.
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