Houston Astros fans waiting for clarity regarding Alex Bregman’s possible return to the hot corner may be out of luck for the foreseeable future.

Bregman told The Athletic’s Chandler Rome this week that his ability to play third base for the rest of the season is “kind of up in the air” as he continues to deal with swelling in his right elbow. The injury sidelined Bregman for five games before he returned to Houston’s lineup as the DH in Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. Afterward, he said his defensive abilities are still limited.

“There are some little gremlins in there that are causing swelling that I just have to try to alleviate and keep the swelling down for the rest of the year,” Bregman told Rome.

Well, that’s certainly one explanation. Another could be the arthroscopic surgery he underwent after the 2018 season to remove bone chips from the same elbow. Gremlins or not, Bregman’s injury is problematic not only for a player who is in his final year as a nascent free agent, but also for an Astros roster that offers little flexibility in lineup construction.

The Astros will definitely add Bregman’s bat to their lineup no matter how they get him, but if he’s limited defensively, that makes things much more difficult for the club.

If Bregman takes over the DH role in a somewhat permanent way for the rest of the season, Astros manager Joe Espada will have to get creative. He will also likely have to do something he doesn’t want to do — namely, have Yordan Alvarez play left field every day to keep their regular DH’s explosive hitting in the lineup.

Bregman’s move to DH also leaves a big hole at third base, where rookies Shay Whitcomb and Zach Dezenzo have barely proven they’re up to the task of being a daily starter. The two have combined to hit 9-of-47 at bats since being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land and have below-average fielding percentages at third base.

Until Bregman is healthy again, Espada has the unenviable task of maximizing the Astros’ offense without sacrificing too much defense – all with severely limited resources. In the meantime, hopefully Bregman can defeat these gremlins sooner rather than later.

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