Regardless of your thoughts about the World Baseball Classic, the Astros' current plight remains the same: The organization must now navigate the loss of their All-Star second baseman to a fractured right thumb, which will likely keep Jose Altuve out of action for a while. The team has yet to establish a timetable, but an eight-to-ten-week absence, as noted here by Bob Nightengale, feels reasonable. After all, Bryce Harper missed about two months in a similar situation, with the only material differences being it occurred in-season and the affected thumb was on his left hand.
Fresh off a season in which he hit .