Altuve cleared to return; Emanuel activated

HOUSTON -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, who has been on the COVID-19 injured list since April 14, was cleared to return to action by Major League Baseball on Friday, though he won’t be activated by the team for a few days. Altuve arrived at Minute Maid Park for pregame workouts but can’t stay for the game.

“I've been missing him and his presence and it would be a tremendous boost to be able to see him today,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said.

Altuve will need to work out for a few days with the club before being activated. The other four players placed on the COVID-19 IL last week -- Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Martín Maldonado and Robel Garcia -- were activated prior to Tuesday’s game in Colorado.

“Just because he’s Altuve doesn’t mean he’s ‘Altuve in baseball shape,’” Baker said. “I don’t know when we’ll realistically activate him. First, we’ve got to see what kind of shape he’s in, see him catch some ground balls, take some batting practice. I don’t care who you are, it’s hard to come out of the bed and go play him without risking hurting him.

“You got all kind of things that you have pass and feel comfortable doing because these guys are human beings. You can’t just [turn him on] like you do a video game and expect him to be Jose Altuve. He might do it, but I haven’t seen anyone that can do it.”

Astros shortstop Carlos Correa was happy to reunite with Altuve in the clubhouse on Friday. Altuve was hitting .318 with one homer and five RBIs in 11 games before he was sidelined.

“I’m very excited to have him back,” Correa said. “He went straight to the [batting] cage. He’s trying to get that timing, trying to get that swing back right away. I can’t wait to have him back here in the lineup.”

Emanuel ends long road, joins Astros bullpen

Left-hander Kent Emanuel realized his dream by reaching the Major Leagues nearly eight years after the Astros drafted him out of the University of the North Carolina, but he remains diligent in saying his 80-game suspension handed down last year for using a performance-enhancing substance wasn’t justified.

Emanuel is so committed to his innocence that he has opted to wear jersey No. 0, which he says is how many games he should have been suspended. Emanuel last year tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone in violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Emanuel has vehemently denied “knowingly or intentionally” taking the substance, saying last year he didn’t know how seven picograms of the long-term metabolite of DHCMT got into his system.

“I plan on wearing this number until some changes are made to fix the problem,” Emanuel said. “There are innocent players getting in trouble for stuff they can’t control.”

Emanuel, 28, said the MLB Players Association has asked MLB to implement a threshold of 100 picograms before issuing suspensions. He said scientists have agreed that anything under 100 picograms is not enough to improve performance-enhancing benefits.

“I don’t see the downfall of doing it,” he said. “You protect innocent players from potentially being wrongfully suspended while simultaneously making sure there isn’t a competitive edge on the field.”

Emanuel has logged 532 innings in the Minor Leagues, appearing in 136 games with 76 starts. He pitched in four games for the Astros this spring, including two starts, and posted a 1.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 8 1/3 innings. He gives the Astros a second left-handed option out of the bullpen while Blake Taylor (ankle) is on the injured list.

“A lot of time and energy and effort went into this,” he said. “I had arm injuries, a suspension, a pandemic. It’s been pretty crazy for me. Not many guys hang around for this long and get called up. It’s pretty cool.”

The Astros optioned Nivaldo Rodriguez to the alternate training site to make room for Emanuel.