Add Astros reliever Brad Peacock to the list of players to contract hand, foot, and mouth disease. Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports that the right-hander will miss an as-yet undetermined amount of time due to the illness.
Peacock joins the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard (link) and the Yankees’ J.A. Happ (link) as players to have contracted HF&M, which sounds more like a clothing store you’d find in a mall when you put it that way. Both pitchers missed one start.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is more common in children than adults and is caused by Coxsackievirus A16 or Enterovirus 71. It isn’t known how Happ contracted it, but Syndergaard said he likely became ill after attending a youth camp during the All-Star break.
Peacock, 30, owns a 2.98 ERA with a 90/19 K/BB ratio in 60 1/3 innings for the Astros this season. Based on the other two pitchers’ timelines, Peacock shouldn’t miss many games, so he should have time to return and get primed for a playoff run. The Astros currently hold a three-game lead over the Athletics for first place in the AL West.
