Jose Altuve has remained the one constant for the Houston Astros since his arrival in 2011.
Gone are players like Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa that brought the Astros their first championship in 2017. This past offseason, Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly both departed the club for a move to the Chicago Cubs.
Altuve is potentially switching positions for the first time in his career; in this scenario he would be moving from second base to left field.
He was the one who proposed this while the Astros were trying to re-sign Alex Bregman, who ended up signing with the Boston Red Sox.
While he is willing to switch positions, Altuve does not want this to become a story. Speaking to reporters, Altuve said “I’m trying not to make this a big deal and a focus. I wanna get rid of this left-field conversation, try to answer every question possible and then just move on.”
Early results look favorable for this potential move. When asked how Altuve looked in left field, Astros manager Joe Espada replied “He’s actually been pretty good out there. One thing, it’s practice and we can control the environment and the volume, but once the game starts he’ll be tested and we’ll get a better read of where he’s at.”