HOUSTON -- The decision to move franchise icon Jose Altuve to left field this season didn¡¯t mean the nine-time All-Star second baseman wouldn¡¯t see playing time at his original position at select times for the Astros this season.
After starting in left field against the Mets in the first three games of the season, Altuve was back at his familiar second base position for Monday¡¯s series-opening 7-2 loss to the Giants at Daikin Park -- the position in which he had started 1,749 games entering the series against San Francisco.
¡°I just wanted to get him in there,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°I thought today was the best day to get him at second base.¡±
There appears to be a method behind Espada¡¯s decision, based on who was starting the game on the mound for the Astros -- right-hander Ronel Blanco, who¡¯s a fly-ball pitcher. Mauricio Dub¨®n, a Gold Glove utility player in 2023, started in left field Monday. Blanco had a 39.8 percent ground ball rate last year.
Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, who started the first two games of the season for Houston, had a 60.8 and 48.7 ground ball rate, respectively, last year, so fly balls were at a minimum. Spencer Arrighetti, who started Saturday¡¯s series finale against the Mets, is a fly ball pitcher with a 36.8 ground ball rate, but the Astros weren¡¯t shy about putting Altuve in the field with Arrighetti on the mound.
Altuve played 26 innings in left field through the first three games and made a running catch in front of center fielder Jake Meyers on Thursday. Altuve was replaced on defense by Dub¨®n in the ninth inning of Saturday¡¯s win over the Mets. Espada said he¡¯s been pleased with Altuve¡¯s performance in left field so far.
¡°I know he¡¯s going to continue to work, regardless of how the first series went,¡± Espada said. ¡°I thought he played well. He made some really good decisions and I think he¡¯ll learn a few things about the [left field] wall. I think he positioned himself properly. He was asking the right questions. There¡¯s more room to grow and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll put the work in there to get it done.¡±
The Astros approached Altuve in the offseason about making the position switch, and he spent weeks working out at Daikin Park in January to learn it. He worked out almost exclusively at left in the spring, but not without a few hiccups with a pair of dropped fly balls.
Altuve, who won his only Gold Glove at second base in 2015, has slipped defensively in recent years. His outs above average, which peaked at plus-6 in 2018, dropped from plus-1 in ¡¯22 to minus-3 in ¡¯23 and minus-9 last year, which was the second-worst among qualifying second baseman. He had minus-13 defensive runs saved in ¡¯23 and ¡¯24 and minus-15 in ¡®22.
The Astros remain committed to playing Altuve in left field, though it will be interesting to see at which road parks they choose not to play him in the outfield. Daikin Park is only 315 feet down the left-field line, but bigger outfields like the ones in Baltimore, Detroit and Colorado could prompt the Astros to keep Altuve on infield, depending on the starting pitcher.