The Houston Astros will begin a pivotal series against the Seattle Mariners on Friday that could determine the American League West winner , and they'll have a key player back in their lineup for it. Veteran third baseman Isaac Paredes , sidelined since July 19 by a strained right hamstring, has been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, the Astros placed slugger Yordan Alvarez on the IL and transferred right-hander Kaleb Ort to the 60-day IL to create space on the 40-player roster.

Paredes, 26, was in the midst of a tremendous season before suffering his injury. In 94 games, he had hit .259/.359/.470 (128 OPS+) with 19 home runs and 50 runs batted in. Paredes was named an AL All-Star this season, and his contributions had been worth an estimated 2.5 Wins

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