Brown also said that Alvarez “is not taking swings right now.” It’s unclear how the 27-year-old is “day-to-day” but also hasn’t begun swinging, but perhaps he’ll pick up a bat any day now. Until he does, we have no idea what his true timeline for return will be.

The fact that Alvarez still remains completely shut down from hitting, according to an official team medical report, as he continues to recover from a small fracture in his right hand seems to signal that he won’t make it back until after next month’s All-Star break. There isn’t an official timetable for his return yet, but he’s still several weeks away based on this latest update.

Alvarez was diagnosed with a small fracture in his right hand back in late May when he was still experiencing discomfort while swinging a bat. The Astros can’t afford to take any chances with their primary middle-of-the-order force, so they’re not going to rush him back and risk any setbacks. There isn’t an official return timetable yet, but fantasy managers shouldn’t anticipate Alvarez returning until some point in July.

Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Saturday that Alvarez is 60 percent healed now and added that the fracture wasn’t found until inflammation subsided to the point it showed up on imaging. He continued that the 27-year-old superstar has been shut down from swinging for a while, but is expected to return in the “near future.” It’s an alarming development, but it certainly explains why Alvarez’s recovery seemingly plateaued in recent weeks as he continued to experience discomfort while swinging a bat. There isn’t a definitive timetable for his return at the moment and fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back for at least another few weeks, even in a best-case scenario.