Yordan Alvarez Injury: Nearing live at-bats

Manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that Alvarez (hand) could advance to facing live pitching this weekend, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The veteran slugger has been ramping up his hitting progression over the past couple weeks and is now on the cusp of facing live pitching for the first time since suffering a setback with his fractured right hand over a month ago. GM Dana Brown previously said the Astros were targeting mid-August for Alvarez's return, but he'll likely need at least another week or two beyond that since he's been on the shelf since early May.