Yordan Alvarez is hitting .300 with 15 home runs. He is the lone bright spark in the otherwise faltering Astros’ offense. However, on Saturday, Houston’s fans’ biggest nightmare came true. Alvarez had to leave the game against the Cubs with a back spasm. This is made the fans hit the panic button.

“Status alert: Yordan Alvarez leaves game Saturday,” Underdog MLB shared via X.

Nothing is currently going right for the Astros. They are currently ranked 4th in the AL West with a 22-31 record. And just when they need the entire clubhouse to fire up, injuries are haunting them. With Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve already hurt, they desperately wanted Alvarez to stay fit and keep firing. The $115 million star was doing so until the sixth inning.

During Houston’s 3-0 win, Alvarez fouled off a pitch from Colin Rea and immediately looked uncomfortable. He had felt some tightness while warming up in the on-deck circle, and the pain didn’t go away. Manager Joe Espada and the trainer checked on him. Instead of letting him finish the 0-2 count, they pulled him out. And placed Zach Dezenzo to finish the at-bat.

“Yordan Alvarez has left today’s game due to a back spasm,” the Astros shared later on X.

Losing Alvarez is a tough blow for the team. He is the only .300 hitter on the team. The Astros are nine games behind .500, and losing their best slugger at this time hampers their chances to rise in the table. It still hasn’t been confirmed how bad the back spasm is. Alvarez was already scheduled to sit out Sunday. Also, back spasm can be tricky, and Houston would want to be extra careful with his recovery.

Last year, Alvarez’s season was cut short to 48 games due to a fractured right hand and a sprained left ankle. 2025 was the first time the Astros missed a postseason berth since 2016.

And if Alvarez’s injury is a heartbreaking story for the Astros’ offense, their long injury list is what is making the fans panic. Altuve is on a 10-day IL with a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Correa is out for 6-8 months due to a torn tendon in his left ankle. Cristian Javier is shifted to the 60-day IL with a right shoulder strain. Hunter Brown and Josh Hader are also hurt.

This sums up their ongoing struggle. Yordan Alvarez just made it worse, leaving the fans to give up hope this season.

The Astros fans are left in panic

Where would this injury list end? Fans wonder.

“Astros love losing their entire team 1 by 1 just to make it hurt worse,” one fan said.

“That’s the last thing Astros fans wanted to see right now. Hopefully it’s just precautionary because Houston’s lineup looks completely different when Yordan is out there,” another added.

The Astros’ IL is currently so long that if you name a player, chances are high that he is in the IL. Yainer Diaz, Taylor Trammell, Hunter Brown, Josh Hader, and Ronel Blanco, you name it, and they are all injured. However, fans are hoping that Yalvarez was pulled out just as a precautionary measure and not for a confirmed injury. If his medical protocol comes back negative, hopefully, he will be back soon.

“And that’ll be the dagger for the Astros season,” one user remarked.

Last year, Alvarez’s injury kept the Astros from securing a postseason berth by one game. Alvarez suffered a fracture in his right hand. It was initially misdiagnosed as a muscle strain because of severe swelling, which delayed proper treatment. Maybe that’s why the Astros didn’t take any chances this time and pulled him up early. But if his injury is confirmed, we also wonder how it will affect the team this year.

“Better void!” One suggested. “You all better void him,” another agrees.

While Alvarez’s injury history is long and disastrous, club sources have indicated the team views him as an untouchable asset. However, with $115 million invested in him, the Astros can trade their best-performing slugger to rebuild the roster for the next year.

“If they traded him, I think they’d get a better package than what the Nationals got for Juan Soto,” MLB insider Bob Nightengale said.

With the Astros currently far away from being a contender, rebuilding the roster for the next season sounds good. But would they give up on such a hot name? For now, though, the Astros just need Alvarez back to the business at the earliest.