Carlos Correa’s season was supposed to be over in May. The Astros infielder underwent surgery to repair a tendon tear in his left ankle three months back. Houston announced it would be a six to eight month rehab.

Correa progressed to running and defensive drills by the first week of August. He recently resumed batting practice and is now expected back before the end of the regular season. Manager Joe Espada told reporters this afternoon that he anticipates the three-time All-Star will “be ready to go at some point in September” (link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic).

It’s a remarkably quick return that could have Correa back two months ahead of schedule. He’d been out to a strong start, batting .279/.369/.418 with three homers and eight doubles across 141 plate appearances. Correa was expected to be the primary third baseman but got more work at shortstop while Jeremy Peña was banged up a couple times early in the season.

Peña is back in the everyday shortstop role. Houston has Christian Walker, Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes from first to third base. The Astros have mostly kept AL MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter. Alvarez only has 161 innings as a left fielder this year, including just five starts since the All-Star Break. They’re prioritizing Alvarez’s health to keep one of the five best offensive players in the sport in the lineup.

Espada didn’t want to speculate on how he’d arrange his defense if everyone’s at full strength. Correa still needs to progress through baseball activities and a minor league rehab assignment before he returns to the MLB roster. The Astros would ideally be able to mix in a decent number of off days, though they’re in a tight battle for an AL West title.

Altuve hasn’t played any outfield this year. He has some of the worst defensive grades of any second baseman. Altuve’s trial as a left fielder in 2025 also didn’t go well, but the Astros could live with bad defense there to swap Correa into the lineup instead of a LaMonte Wade Jr./Taylor Trammell split. Paredes could kick over to second base if Correa can play third base on an everyday basis.