27 Jose Altuve 2B

Altuve (knee) is walking with a hinged brace on his knee under his own power, without any help from crutches, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

That minimal progress from Altuve is good, though he hasn't begun the more substantive part of his rehab yet. He's still optimistic that he'll be ready for spring training.

Altuve's knee injury which caused him trouble throughout the season was an avulsion fracture, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

An avulsion fracture occurs when a small piece of bone attached to a ligament or tendon gets pulled away from the rest of the bone. He had surgery to fix the problem Friday and is expected to be fully recovered by the start of spring training. The second baseman's numbers took a step back across the board following his MVP campaign in 2017, with his slash line falling from .346/.410/.547 to a still excellent .315/.385/.449. His homers dropped from 24 to 13, while he stole 17 bases after swiping 32 bags the season before. Given the severity of his knee injury, however, the dip appears to be very understandable, and there's reason to believe he'll bounce back next season.

Altuve had surgery on his right knee Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Altuve dealt with lingering knee issues throughout the season, so the procedure was likely just a simple clean up. More news on a timetable for his recovery figures to surface in the coming days, but he should be ready to go for spring training.

Altuve is starting at DH and hitting second in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Red Sox on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve will get the night off from fielding as the Astros look to rest his bothersome knee, which he tweaked during the ALDS against the Indians earlier in the month. While it doesn't look like the issue will keep Altuve's bat out of the lineup, it's worth noting that his production during the regular season was hindered by lingering knee problems.

Altuve injured his right knee but remained in Saturday's game against the Indians, Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve stumbled out of the batter's box on a grounder and beat out an errant throw. He limped noticeably, prompting a visit from manager A.J. Hinch and a trainer, but Altuve said the pain was already subsiding. That all said, it's worth noting that issues with the right knee cut into Altuve's production for a good chunk of the season.