Yordan Alvarez Injury: Advances to on-field BP

Alvarez (hand) took batting practice on the field Saturday at the Astros' spring training complex in Florida, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

After he had previously been limited to hitting in the batting cages while he works his way back from a right hand fracture, Alvarez took a small step forward in the recovery process by facing off against pitching on the field. The Astros will likely want to see Alvarez complete several live BP sessions before clearing him to participate in simulated games or minor-league games, where he'll need to stockpile at-bats to regain his timing at the plate following a lengthy layoff from action. Houston has yet to provide a firm timeline for a return for Alvarez, who has been on the injured list since May 5.