Just before entering the field to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the Houston Astros’ star infielders suffered a devastating injury. The timing made fans lose hope. 

“F–k this entire season. Just give up now,” a fan wrote after shortstop Carlos Correa’s injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. 

Correa was practicing his swings inside the batting cage before the game started on May 5. He suddenly heard a pop in his left ankle and immediately fell to the ground. At that very moment, he understood something was wrong.

He couldn’t put weight on it to lift himself. Doctors quickly confirmed the bad news.

The shortstop has completely torn a tendon.

The Astros announced that the 31-year-old will undergo surgery. He will require a recovery time of six to eight months. This means he won’t be wearing the Houston jersey again this season. 

This has sent a jolt to the entire franchise.

Correa is one of the key players with a .279 batting average and .787 OPS this season. He recorded 22 runs with 16 RBIs and three homers. He started 51 of the Astros’ final 53 games last season, and 32 of the first 36 games this year in the Houston infield, making his first appearances at third base while also covering at his native shortstop.

But his hitting skills aren’t the only reason Houston traded him in from the Minnesota Twins.

Carlos Correa started his MLB journey with the Astros in 2015. But in 2022, he signed a 6-year, $200 million deal with Minnesota. Houston brought him back through a trade in July 2025 with approximately $96 million left on his deal. The Twins agreed to pay down $33 million of it to facilitate the trade and received minor league pitcher Matt Mikulski.

According to the clubhouse, Correa is a cornerstone for the Astros, and they acquired him for his leadership skills.

He mentored rookie Jeremy Peña and even prepared him to take over at shortstop. Carlos himself moved to third base to prioritize team balance. That’s why his absence is a major hit for the entire franchise.

Plus, Correa has a notoriously checkered history of durability.

Correa had fractured his right fibula sliding into third base in 2014 while playing for High-A Lexington of the Astros system. A surgery was required on that ankle. That same injury caused the Mets and the Giants to back out of mega deals in the winter during the 2023 season.  

Now, with surgery looming on his other ankle, the Astros will not only miss their best hitter. The team sits 4th in the AL West with a 15-23 record. Missing their de facto captain will narrow their chances for a bounce-back. His .360 OBP ranks 11th among qualified AL hitters since last year’s trade deadline. 

They failed to reach the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2016. And this season is turning out to be even worse. 

This is very uncharacteristic for a franchise that reached the World Series four times in the last decade and won two of them. Fans are emotionally drained and have no clue how the Astros will continue the season. 

Astros fans spiral from disbelief to frustration after crushing injury blow

The most common question among fans is how Correa could suffer an injury while practicing.

“Tf he do? Take a grenade off the ankle?”

Getting injured is routine. But tearing the tendon from swinging in the cage is new for every fan. They still refuse to believe that such an injury can occur from a routine swing in the cage. But something similar happened to their pitcher Spencer Arrighetti on April 7, 2025. 

The right-hander was hit on his throwing hand by a line drive while playing catch in the outfield during batting practice ahead of the Astros’ series-opener against the Seattle Mariners. Arrighetti underwent immediate X-rays at T-Mobile Park, which revealed that the now-26-year-old had suffered a broken right thumb. It was only on April 15, 2026, that he returned to the big leagues.

“Average day of being an Astro fan in 2026,” another fan voiced his frustration. 

The Astros currently have 17 players on the injury list, and six of them, including Correa, are out for the season. Correa is the second member of the team’s starting lineup to hit the IL this week, joining catcher Yainer Diaz, who was shelved a day earlier due to a strained oblique. The absence of key players like Jeremy Peña, Josh Hader, and Hayden Wesneski, among others, has already impacted the results this season.  

One fan blended sarcasm with concern to lessen the frustration. “Remember when you were so worried about us having one too many infielders? I never was.”  

At the start of the season, some analysts suggested that the Astros have more infielders than they can accommodate. The list included Jose Altuve and Christian Walker alongside Peña and Correa. But as of today, Peña and Correa are both on the IL. The team was even trying to trade third baseman Isaac Paredes to clear up their crowded infield picture. That failed deal definitely looks like a blessing in disguise now. 

“Didn’t they initially say it was his right ankle that was bothering him?” asked a confused fan. They probably hoped that the injury news would turn out to be fake. 

Carlos Correa suffered a mild ankle strain in 2025 from a collision at second base. He also had plantar fasciitis in both ankles during 2023-2024. But his list of injuries isn’t limited to just these.

One even suggested that the team move away from him. “Carlos Correa should be traded or released, most of the time, he is in IL.”

His injury in 2024 limited his playing time to 84 games. But the most concerning one was Correa’s right fibula fracture and ligament damage in 2014 during the minor league. That injury cost him the Giants’ 13-year, $350 million (the fourth-largest in MLB history at that time) and the Mets’ 12-year, $315 million deals, flagged by their respective medical personnel. They feared that Carlos wouldn’t be physically effective for such long periods. They argued that he might suffer from declining mobility through the years.  

Correa also had hand injuries in 2022 and 2024, and had a ligament injury on his left thumb in 2017. A lingering back ailment made him miss 36 games in 2018, while he was sidelined for two months due to a fractured rib the next year. 

Of all these injuries, the most recent will be the most concerning one. Carlos Correa’s absence will hurt the Houston Astros on the field and in the clubhouse. For most fans, it’s much more than losing a player. It’s like losing whatever momentum Houston had left.