Jason Castro exits game for Houston Astros with quad strain

Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro left Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins with a quad strain. Castro seemed to tweak the quad running to second base in the fifth inning, as he was lifted for a pinch runner after hitting a one-out double.

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Castro will be evaluated on Saturday before a decision on his status is made. Should the injury cause the former All-Star to miss significant time, that would leave Houston with Hank Conger and Evan Gattis as the remaining options behind the dish. AAA catcher Max Stassi is also on the 40-man roster, or Houston could also elect to call up fellow Fresno catcher Tyler Heineman. While he doesn’t currently hold a 40-man roster spot, he Heineman has a solid .287 (as opposed to Stassi’s .211 clip) at the AAA level and would be a much more welcomed bat in the Astros lineup.

With George Springer set to return in the near future, however, Evan Gattis could ultimately be the guy at catcher down the stretch to clear room in the lineup for one of the Astros’ outfielders at the designated hitter spot if Castro does end up missing an extended period of time.

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