Just as the Houston Astros were settling into a comfortable early-season groove, with a 5-2 record, the team was hit with an unexpected off-field blow that will sideline their $9.35 million starter.

“We have placed IF Isaac Paredes on the bereavement list,” reported the team’s official X handle.

A player on the bereavement list is allowed a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven. This means he will miss the weekend series against the Oakland Athletics and has been replaced by Shay Whitcomb.

While detailed reasons behind the bereavement are not yet disclosed, Paredes is likely facing a grave family matter, as indicated by the manager, too.

“We’re going to give Paredes some time here to deal with his family, and when he gets back, we’ll welcome him with open arms,” stated Joe Espada.

But from the offense sides of things, Isaac Paredes will not be missed too much.

He had just 5 hits, having played 6 games. But he started games at 3rd, 2nd, and as a DH, showing his versatility.

To cover for him, the Astros called Shay Whitcomb from Triple-A Sugar Land. Whitcomb has had a brilliant start to his minor league season, going 8-26 with 2 homers. Those numbers translate to a .308 average and a .577 slugging percentage. He owns a 25% strikeout rate over the last three minor league seasons.

But he brings more than just his bat.

Whitcomb has the same defensive flexibility as Paredes. He can be used in all 4 infield spots and in the outfield corners. That versatility could be seen last season, with over twenty games each at second, third, and left.

Yet his major league numbers raise major concerns.

In the 20 games that he played last season for the Astros, he had a batting average of .125 with just a single home run.

Meanwhile, the Astros are also in the midst of a minor pitching crisis.

This is just an added problem to the existing list for the Astros

With Paredes temporarily out, the Houston Astros’ offense will certainly be affected. However, they also have question marks about their pitching contingency heading into the game against the Athletics.

While they have the likes of Lance McCullers Jr. and Christian Javier, it will be tough to expect a lot from them.

With Lance McCullers Jr., fitness is the major concern as he returned from a thread of injuries from last year. Foot sprain, finger blister, and hand soreness. And these hit just when he came back from missing all of 2023 and 2024 with a flexor tendon injury, followed by surgery. The player had a 6.51 ERA in 55.1 innings in 2025 with multiple IL stints. There were a lot of doubts about whether the Astros should keep him.

But so far in 2026, he has looked great. Nine strikeouts, while allowing just 1 run against the Red Sox in their 8-1 win.

Although it is a small sample size, the Astros will hope he steps up, as there are concerns about Cristian Javier, too.

The early showing has been rocky as he has an ERA of 12.96, a result of the 6 runs allowed in 4.2 innings against just the Angels. He issued four walks and gave up two home runs in that outing.

Hunter Brow is certainly a great pitcher, but he will need support from the likes of McCullers and Javier. Both have what it takes to perform, but will have to showcase consistency to help the team this season.