Just when it seemed the Houston Astros might be ready to move on from All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, one MLB insider is giving a bit of hope to a potential reunion … with a twist.
By making a trade with the Chicago Cubs and bringing Isaac Paredes on board, Houston already seems to have filled the opening at third base that would be caused by Bregman’s eventual departure in free agency. However, USA Today insider Bob Nightengale has floated the idea that Bregman could still return to south Texas, setting off a domino effect involving Paredes.
Paredes has played 67 games at second base in his five-year MLB career, so that move in and of itself might not cause too many ripples. However, Altuve has never played in the outfield in his 14-year MLB career, logging 1,765 of his 1,767 career games at second base (with the other two coming at shortstop).
The 34-year-old Altuve won his only Gold Glove at second base in 2015 and has been a fixture for the Astros at the position, signing a five-year, $125M deal prior to the 2024 campaign that ensured he would almost certainly end his career with Houston, the only team he has ever known.
While the move to bring Bregman back would certainly boost the Astros batting order, the shuffling of positions could also solve a problem in the outfield (if the 5-foot-6 Altuve were to adapt to the position as well as overcome any concerns about his height in the outfield).
Houston’s current depth chart has Mauricio Dubon and Taylor Trammell battling for the starting nod in left field, so eliminating those options with an Altuve move would, in theory, look good on paper.
However, the chances of Bregman returning to Houston and all of this happening may be slim at best. After all, as Nightengale mentioned in his post, Bregman has “serious offers from at least two teams” and a return isn’t “optimistic.”