Injured Astros slugger reveals plans for All-Star Game

Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker had another All-Star season, as evidenced by his selection as an American League reserve for the third consecutive season.

Under normal circumstances, that would mean a busy week. Travel on Sunday. Media on Monday. All-Star Game on Tuesday. Back to Houston on Wednesday.

But this won’t be a normal All-Star Game for Tucker.

It had been clear for several days that Tucker would not be able to play in the All-Star Game because of a bruised right shin.

He won’t even be playing in the All-Star Game, even though it’s just a few hours away in Arlington, Texas. Tucker has chosen to stay in Houston for the four-day All-Star break and continue to try to recover from his injury, which has been nagging since he suffered it last month.

Tucker told reporters that he “can’t do everything normally right now, but every day it’s getting a little better and I can start moving around better.”

He underwent an initial scan of his tibia after his injury, which revealed no damage. He said he underwent further scans during his rehabilitation and nothing changed.

“I’m happy with what we’ve done, it just takes a little time,” Tucker said.

Tucker’s rehab work lately has included baseball activities like playing catch, hitting in the cage and non-baseball activities like running on a treadmill. But he hasn’t made the leap forward he and manager Joe Espada hoped for just a few weeks ago.

Tucker was injured on June 3 after hitting a baseball in the shin. At the time, the Astros hoped Tucker wouldn’t even have to go on the disabled list. But a few days later, he needed crutches to help support the weight of his injury, and Houston placed him on the 10-day disabled list.

Tucker finished outside the top two in the starting lineup of outfielders, with New York Yankees’ Juan Soto and Cleveland’s Steven Kwan joining Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. But Tucker’s numbers through the first two months of the season were enough to warrant selection as a backup by his peers and MLB.

When the 27-year-old right fielder was placed on the disabled list, he was hitting .266/.395/.584/.979 with 19 homers and 40 RBIs. At the time, his .979 OPS ranked fourth in the major leagues behind Judge, Soto and Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna. He was second in the American League with 46 walks and third with a .584 slugging percentage. He also had more walks than strikeouts (41) at bat.

Tucker was considered the AL’s MVP before his injury. The Astros’ 2015 first-round pick from Tampa, Fla., has been in the top 20 in MVP voting each of the last three seasons, including a fifth-place finish last year.