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Astros' Brice Matthews: Pulled with left knee injury
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The Astros announced that Matthews was removed from Sunday's game against the Rangers after the first inning due to a left knee injury, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Matthews hurt his knee when he collided with the outfield wall with two outs in the bottom of the first while attempting to reel in a deep fly off the bat of Josh Jung. Taylor Trammell pinch hit for Matthews when his first turn in the batting order came up in the second inning. Trammell will likely serve as the Astros' primary option in center field if the knee issue forces Matthews to the injured list coming out of the All-Star break.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Exits with apparent injury
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Matthews was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the second inning Sunday following a collision with the center-field wall while pursuing a flyball in the bottom of the first, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
With two outs in the inning, Matthews was unable to corral a Josh Jung deep fly, which ultimately fell in for a triple after Matthews' back and head collided with the outfield wall. Matthews was able to make the relay throw into the infield and remained in the game while Houston recorded the final out of the frame, but he was pulled from the contest before his first turn in the batting order came up. Taylor Trammell pinch hit for Matthews and will presumably cover center field for the remainder of the contest. The Astros should provide further word on the nature of Matthews' injury later Sunday.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Seizing control of CF job
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Matthews will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Rangers.
Matthews will cover center field for the fifth time in six games, with two of his starts during that stretch coming against right-handed pitchers. He had previously been handling a short-side platoon role in the Houston outfield, but Matthews looks like he's supplanted the struggling Taylor Trammell as the preferred option in center.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Clubs homer in loss
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Matthews went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Monday's 12-11 loss to Washington.
Matthews lined a three-run homer to left field to get Houston within a run in the eighth inning. Monday's long ball was his first since June 13, as the 24-year-old had gone 2-for-32 (.063) with 13 strikeouts across 17 appearances during the drought. Matthews started in center field against Washington and is competing for playing time in the outfield with Taylor Trammell, LaMonte Wade and Zach Dezenzo.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Sitting after four straight starts
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Matthews is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Matthews will move to the bench after he had made three starts in the outfield and one at second base over the last four games while going a collective 3-for-13 with a pair of extra-base knocks. The Astros should continue to make room for Matthews in the lineup when they face left-handed pitching, but his opportunities to play against righties may become more sporadic now that Houston has all its key hitters back from the injured list except for Carlos Correa (ankle), who is out for the season.
Matthews is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.
Matthews is slashing just .197/.242/.328 with a 27.3 percent strikeout rate in May, and though the Astros lost Jose Altuve (oblique) to the injured list Monday, the recent activation of Jake Meyers has resulted in the struggling Matthews losing out on some playing time in center field. The 24-year-old will hit the bench for the second time in three games while the Astros go with Braden Shewmake at second base. In addition to the keystone and center, Matthews remains a candidate to see playing time in left field, though Houston also has Zach Cole and Zach Dezenzo as options there.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Taking seat Tuesday
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Matthews is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The 29-year-old has been getting regular playing time in the outfield and occasional action at second base, but he may have a reduced role going forward due to Jake Meyers (oblique) coming off the injured list Tuesday. Matthews had a .751 OPS as of May 8, but he's batting .162 (6-for-37) with no extra-base hits across his past 10 contests.
Matthews went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 12-2 loss to the Dodgers.
The 24-year-old led off the bottom of the first inning by ripping a Tyler Glasnow (back) sinker into the Crawford Boxes in left field, but it was the only lead the Astros would hold on the afternoon. Matthews is up to four homers on the season, and three of them have come in the last nine games -- a stretch in which he's batting .323 (10-for-31) with five runs and eight RBI as he begins to establish himself as an everyday player for Houston.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Belts three-run homer Saturday
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Matthews went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk during the Astros' 6-3 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday.
Matthews gave Houston a 4-0 run lead after belting a three-run long ball to center field off Connelly Early. It was the third home run of the season for Matthews, two of which have come over his last five games. In that five-game span, he has gone 9-for-21 (.429) with one steal, six RBI and four runs scored. Matthews has enjoyed more playing time in the outfield as of late due to the absences of Joey Loperfido (quadriceps), Taylor Trammell (groin) and Jake Meyers (oblique), all of whom are on the Astros' 10-day injured list.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Pops second homer
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Matthews went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Orioles.
Getting another start in center field and batting ninth, Matthews launched a solo homer off Shane Baz in the fifth inning to get Houston on the board, and give the converted second baseman his second long ball of 2026. The performance snapped an 0-for-10 skid for the 24-year-old, but since becoming a regular member of an injury-thinned outfield back on April 20, Matthews is batting .300 (6-for-20) with three doubles, a homer, a steal, three runs and four RBI.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Swipes first bag
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Matthews went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, a run scored and a stolen base in Monday's 9-2 win over the Guardians.
The stolen base was the first of the season for Matthews, who stole 41 bags with Triple-A Sugar Land last season. Matthews had been scuffling at the plate coming into Monday's contest -- he'd gone just 1-for-19 in his previous 11 games. Despite his struggles to start the year, the 24-year-old Matthews could be in line for more playing time in the outfield with Taylor Trammell (groin) likely to join Jake Meyers (oblique) and Joey Loperfido (quadriceps) on the injured list.
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Astros' Joey Loperfido: IL move official
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The Astros placed Loperfido on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a right quadriceps strain.
The 26-year-old sustained the quad injury during Friday's 9-4 loss to the Cardinals. Loperfido will be eligible to be reinstated April 28, and Astros general manager Dana Brown said during a radio appearance Sunday that he's optimistic that the 26-year-old outfielder will be ready to return at that time, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. In the meantime, the Astros will likely lean on Brice Matthews, Dustin Harris and Shay Whitcomb to pick up reps in left field in Loperfido's absence.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Launches first homer
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Matthews went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 8-1 win over the Red Sox.
Matthews extended Houston's lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning with a 434-foot blast off Ranger Suarez, his first homer of the year. The right-handed hitting Matthews has been platooning with Joey Loperfido to open the year, starting in three of the Astros' first five contests. He's now 2-for-9 with six strikeouts and no walks.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Claims Opening Day roster spot
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The Astros announced Wednesday that Matthews won a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Matthews is set to begin the season as a utility player for the Astros after producing an .817 OPS while seeing time at second base, left field and center field during spring training. The 24-year-old is also capable of playing shortstop, though the Astros will go with Carlos Correa at that position in Thursday's season opener versus the Angels as a replacement for the banged-up Jeremy Pena (finger). Matthews, who slashed just .167/.222/.452 in 47 plate appearances during his first taste of the majors last season, is likely to see most of his starts against left-handed pitching in the early going.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: Strong start to spring
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Matthews went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a stolen base in Saturday's Grapefruit League game versus the Pirates.
Matthews has swung the bat well to start the spring, going 4-for-10 with a double and a stolen base in his first four Grapefruit League games. Matthews, a first-round pick in 2023, is primarily an infielder, though he's been getting more work in the outfield this spring in an effort to make the Opening Day roster as a utility piece. Matthews struggled in a brief major-league stint last season, batting just .167 with four homers across 47 plate appearances. However, he put up impressive numbers in 112 games with Triple-A Sugar Land, slashing .260/.371/.458 with 17 homers and 41 stolen bases across 498 plate appearances.
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Astros' Brice Matthews: To play some outfield in 2026
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Matthews is still viewed as a second baseman long term, but he'll also play in the outfield in 2026, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
"He's going to get some run in the outfield, but second base is still going to be his main position," general manager Dana Brown said. "We project he'll turn the corner with the bat and get maybe some run in the outfield a little bit, as well." Matthews is situated as a backup option at shortstop and second base, and he would need an injury to Jeremy Pena or Jose Altuve to see significant work in the middle infield in 2026. The Astros probably aren't done making moves this offseason either and could add more outfield options, but Brown and manager Joe Espada were complimentary about Matthews' potential in the short term and long term. Matthews is a great athlete with plus speed and above-average raw power. He slashed .260/.371/.458 with 17 home runs, 41 steals and a 27.9 percent strikeout rate in 112 games in the Pacific Coast League. A .167 BABIP and 42.6 percent strikeout rate led to a .167 batting average and .222 on-base percentage in the majors, but he showed off his tools with four home runs and one steal in 13 games.
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