The Astros’ 2026 campaign is riddled with injuries. And just when they thought they couldn’t take any more setbacks, they were hit by one of the biggest blows. Just before they entered the field to face the Dodgers, one of the key players suffered a devastating injury. The timing made all the Houston 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 he immediately fell to the ground. At that very moment, he understood something was wrong as he couldn’t put weight on it to lift himself. Doctors quickly confirmed the bad news: he completely tore 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 for the team with a .279 batting average and .787 OPS this season. He recorded 22 runs with 16 RBIs and three homers. But his hitting skills aren’t the only reason Houston traded him in from the Twins.
Carlos Correa needs season-ending surgery on a torn tendon in his left ankle. Recovery is 6-8 months, he said.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 6, 2026
Carlos Correa started his MLB journey with the Astros in 2015, and he signed a 6-year, $200 million deal with Minnesota in 2023. 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.
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 his shortstop position. Carlos himself moved to third base to prioritize team balance. That’s why his absence is a major hit for the entire franchise.
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. They failed to reach the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2017. And this season is turning out to be worse than the last.
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 the fans is how Correa can suffer an injury while practicing. A fan asked, “Tf he do? Take a grenade off the ankle?”
Getting injured is a routine aspect for MLB players. 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.
“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. The absence of key players like Jeremy Peña, Josh Hader, Hayden Wesneski, and Yainer Diaz, 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,” he said.
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. As of May 5, Parades, Peña, and Correa are on the IL.
“Didn’t they initially say it was his right ankle that was bothering him?” asked a confused fan. He 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 these only. That’s why a user thought it might be best for the team to move away from him.
A comment read, “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 only. But the most concerning one was Correa’s right fibula fracture and ligament damage in 2014 during the minor league. That injury cost him two of the biggest contracts in sports history.
The Giants’ 13-year, $350 million (the fourth-largest in MLB history at that time) and the Mets’ 12-year, $315 million were both 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. That’s why he finally went to the Twins.
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 in the next year.
Of all these injuries, the most recent will be the most concerning for him and his team. Carlos Correa’s absence will hurt the Astros on the field as well as in the clubhouse. For most fans, it’s much more than losing a player. It’s like losing whatever momentum Houston had left.
