Beat writer Matt Kawahara answers a variety of Astros questions in his bi-weekly mailbag, including if Houston will add a left-handed bat at the trade deadline.

The Houston Astros have been playing some excellent baseball of late, but they saw a key player go down with an injury before the final game of their series.

The Houston Astros faced a moment of concern when shortstop Jeremy Pena was hit by a pitch, forcing him out of the game with soreness in his left ribs.Pena took an 89 mph changeup from Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and left the field shortly after,

The Astros called up their top prospect, Brice Matthews, from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday. Matthews, who was set to play in Saturday's All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta, was slashing .283/.400/.476 with 10 homers,

A direct result of the numerous injuries that have thinned Houston's roster this season has been the steady stream of minor leaguers making their big league debuts for the Astros.

The Houston Astros will be without one of their top players for the foreseeable future. Shortstop Jeremy Peña has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a small fracture in one of his ribs on the left side, the Astros announced Monday. The team will make a corresponding roster move Tuesday, before their series opener with the Colorado Rockies.

MLB All-Star game at Truist Park in Atlanta is almost here and there have already been changes to the AL and NL rosters. Here's a breakdown: