Houston Astros fans are used to seeing Jose Altuve playing at second base, but the plan is for him to play most of his games in left field this season, as confirmed by his manager, Joe Espada.
“Right now the plan is for him to play the majority of his games in left field,” Joe Espada said, via the Associated Press, adding that moving Altuve “back and forth is something that I am going to avoid.”
The idea of moving Altuve to left field came up when the Astros were looking into keeping third baseman Alex Bregman, who ended up with the Boston Red Sox. If Bregman had returned, Isaac Paredes would have shifted to second base, and Altuve to left field. Altuve indicated that he would do it for Bregman to stay at Astros FanFest in January.
“Whatever I have to do for [Bregman] to stay, I’m willing to do it,” Altuve said.
Bregman, of course, is not back with the Astros, but Altuve is still making the move to left field, as the team seemingly believes that is the best move for them. Altuve’s defensive metrics have fallen off at second base in recent years, so a move off of the position makes some sense. He still is an impact offensive player. Moving him to left field hopefully mitigates some of the defensive drawbacks.
Also, moving Altuve to left field opens up an infield spot in the long-term for Cam Smith, who was acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade with the Chicago Cubs alongside Paredes. Eventually, the Astros will likely have an infield that has Smith, Jeremy Pena, Paredes and Christian Walker from left to right. That could take place at some point this year, or down the line in 2026. Either way, Altuve’s future in the later stages of his career seems to be in the outfield.
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