Ben Gamel suffers fibula fracture

Ben Gamel has suffered a fracture of his left fibula, the Astros announced. Houston placed the outfielder on the 10-day injured list retroactively to September 15 and called up catcher Cesar Salazar.

Houston has not announced a timetable for Gamel's return, but it is hard to imagine him playing again this season. The outfielder suffered the injury in Saturday's win over the Angels. He ran hard into the right field wall while throwing a Mickey Moniak Fly ball. Gamel stayed in the game for one more inning before being replaced as a pinch hitter Jason Heyward.

He is the second Houston outfielder to miss play with a broken bone in the last week. Chas McCormick went on the IL on Thursday with a fracture in his right hand. This means that the Astros have an outfield consisting of Kyle Tucker, Jake MeyersHeyward, caretaker Mauricio Dubon and DH/left fielder Jordan AlvarezCaptain Joe Espada is relying on Tucker, Dubón and Heyward as well as Alvarez as designated hitter for today's game in San Diego.

Gamel was a productive hitter for the Astros. Houston acquired him from the Mets in late August. He appeared in 20 games and batted .259/.377/.362 with one home run in 69 batting appearances. He had a good chance of making Houston's playoff roster (assuming they maintain their four-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West), especially if McCormick's injury lingered into October.

The left-handed Gamel will be a free agent in the offseason. He will likely only have minor league offers, but has pitched well enough in a small sample to have a chance at a guaranteed contract. That would be a harder sell if this injury lingers into the offseason.