Astros Star Correa Out for Season After Tearing Ankle Tendon in Batting Cage

One of the Houston Astros' biggest setbacks this season came in practice this week.

Star shortstop Carlos Correa hurt his left ankle while taking swings in the batting cage before the team's 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Daikin Park on Tuesday. The 31-year-old told reporters the next day that he needs surgery for a torn tendon and will miss the rest of the season.

Correa said he felt a "pop" in his ankle during the swing. He visited a foot specialist Wednesday morning and expects a six-to-eight-month recovery.

"It just completely snapped on me and then I fell to the ground," Correa told reporters, according to ESPN. "I couldn't put weight on it. ... Right away, I knew something was wrong."

Correa's injury hits hard for the struggling Astros, who sit at 15-22. He had been one of their top hitters, batting .279 with three home runs and 16 RBI.

"Very tough," Correa said. "Not what I was expecting, but now it's time to deal with it, face it head on, and focus on the rehab."

The Astros already had 13 players on the injured list before Correa got hurt. He started the year at third base but moved to shortstop after Jeremy Peña went on the IL.

The team scratched Correa from the lineup after the injury, the second straight day they had to pull a hitter for a pregame practice issue. On Monday, they removed catcher Yainer Díaz after he hurt his oblique in practice.

Correa launched his career with the Astros and spent his first seven seasons in Houston before signing with the Minnesota Twins in free agency. After three and a half seasons there, Houston got him back at last year's trade deadline.

Correa now joins Peña, starting pitchers Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Tatsuya Imai, closer Josh Hader, and center fielder Jake Meyers on the Astros' injured list.

The Astros face the Los Angeles Dodgers (22-14) next in the rubber match of their three-game series Wednesday at 2:10 p.m. ET. The teams have split the first two games.