The Astros’ offense has cratered around Yordan since his IL return

Since Yordan returned from the IL, instead of getting the usual boost when a big bat returns, they have gotten worse – and without his numbers, they've actually been bottom-tier in the league. Now obviously for anyone who's been watching the games in the last month this isn't exactly some groundbreaking discovery, but it's still interesting to look at.

• While Yordan was out (May 3-Aug 25): Astros hit .258/.321/.414, good for a .735 OPS (9th in MLB)
• Since he came back (Aug 26-present): Astros are hitting .244/.318/.394, a .712 OPS (16th in MLB)

Those numbers on their own aren't monumentally different, but with Alvarez putting up numbers of his own that would make Barry Bonds blush, the numbers for the rest of the team are quite a bit worse when you take Alvarez's numbers out of the equation: .226/.294/.363 with a .657 OPS, which would rank 22nd in the league.

Obviously Yordan isn't the problem – he's trying to single-handedly carry this team kicking and screaming to its 8th division title in the last 9 years. But it is more than a little concerning that even with Alvarez back in the lineup adding some protection for our guys and keeping opposing pitchers from sleeping at night that this team continues to slide. With 18 games left in the season it's looking like it may not be enough that we got Yordan back from the IL, we also need the rest of the team's bats to come back from the dead. Maybe pour some rum out for Jobu tonight and hope it's enough to squeak out another division win, though it doesn't look like Seattle is all that interested in taking the division either.