Tremors shook Houston Tuesday, as the Astros announced their 22-year-old MVP candidate and all-world shortstop, Carlos Correa, would miss up to eight weeks with a torn left thumb ligament requiring surgery.

Third baseman Colin Moran was promoted from Houston’s Triple-A Fresno affiliate to take Correa’s spot on the roster, if not in the everyday lineup. In a related (and much deserved) move, third baseman J.D. Davis was promoted, Wednesday, from Double-A Corpus Christi to Fresno.

Related: Astros’ 3B Bonanza: Moran, J.D. Davis, Randy Cesar (A+)

Houston GM Jeff Luhnow spoke after Monday’s 9-7 loss to Seattle, saying, “Losing a player of Carlos’ caliber for an extended period is a big blow to our club, but I believe we have the roster to persevere and continue to win games. We do expect Carlos to return to the club in September and be ready to contribute down the stretch.”

Correa, who started at shortstop last week for the American League in the All-Star Game, entered Monday’s game ranked #4 in the AL with a .970 OPS. He was hitting .442 in his previous 12 games with 6 homers and 18 RBIs, and had reached base in 27 consecutive games prior to going 0-for-1 on Monday with a sacrifice fly.

Options

Originally a shortstop at LSU, and moved to 3B in his early minor league career, Houston’s Alex Bregman will slide to short occasionally, but Correa’s absence can now provide an opportunity, also, for more regular playing time for Marwin Gonzalez, normally Houston’s super-sub. Planting Marwin at SS would provide the Astros with solid offensive and defensive consistency at the position, if not replicating Correa’s electric dynamism few can match, anyway. Marwin, in fact, has reached base safely in 22 games in a row (counting Tuesday, July 18th’s game), which is the most in MLB.

Related: Marwin Gonzalez: The Nuts’n’Bolts of The Big Orange Machine

A possible platoon at third with the righty Bregman and the left-hand hitting Moran might also materialize. Bregman’s been struggling a bit this season (.257 BA, .339 OBP, 8 HRs), although it’s going largely unnoticed with the explosive offense around him helping to distract.

Moran, Houston’s #23-ranked prospect, brings an impressive Triple-A resume with him (.308/.373/.543, with a career-high 18 homers in 302 ABs), but more importantly, this opportunity is a chance to improve on his MLB debut last season, when his 25 PAs yielded but 3 hits, a walk, and 8 Ks.

With an AL Western Division lead that’s forcing the other four teams in the division to become intimately familiar with the phrase “Wild Card,” losing Correa won’t cause a total Astro team collapse, with the remaining offensive fire power on display every game. Correa will be missed, but Marwin has been, and is more than ready and capable of, flourishing in his stead.

Houston’s “Wild Cards”

Correa will return to the Astros’ lineup around mid-September for the stretch run.

And, who knows? Marwin may gather enough ABs to rank among the league leaders in several offensive categories, Bregman may find his stroke, and Moran may find he’s in the Astros’ long-term plans, after all.

Related: Colin Moran Sees the Day

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