Astros Finalize Opening Day Roster With Former Gold Glove Second Baseman

The Houston Astros have made their final opening day roster decision for their matchup with the New York Mets.

Jose Altuve is making the full-time switch to left field. Now, there are some growing pains with him defensively, but he will remain at the corner outfield position.

With Altuve sticking in the outfield, that leaves an opening at second base for Houston.

The original thought is for Mauricio Dubon to take over the starting job at second base. However, he slashed just .143/.231/.200 this spring. He also finished with zero RBI and zero runs scored in 15 games played.

Because of those struggles, Houston's final roster decision went to another second baseman.

Per Chandler Rome of the Athletic, who posted to his account on X (formerly Twitter) Brendan Rodgers has made the opening day roster.

Brendan Rodgers got the final spot on the Astros' Opening Day roster, the club announced.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 26, 2025

The Astros will unveil their official 26-man roster and make any final roster moves about four hours before their opening-day game.

Rodgers was signed to a minor league contract and given an invite to spring training this offseason.

This spring, he has slashed .233/.250/.349 with eight RBI, four runs scored and five doubles in 15 games played. Those hitting stats are not the best, but he also did not make an error in the field through 78.0 defensive innings.

The 28-year-old began his career with the Colorado Rockies.

The first two years of his career were not great, but he became a fixture in the lineup in 2021. Since that year, the right-handed batter has slashed .270/.321/.421 with 45 home runs, 188 RBI, 209 runs scored, an OPS+ of 95 and he was worth 6.9 Wins Above Replacement.

Defensively, the second baseman has always been able to field the ball well. In fact, he was able to win the National League Gold Glove award in 2022.

He lacks some power at the plate, but he can hit for plenty of average. Additionally, his glove is more than capable of earning an everyday job. With that, it was a bit of a surprise that it took Rodgers so long to sign with a team.

Now that he has found a home with the Astros, Rodgers has played well enough to be added to the 40-man roster and given a spot on the opening day roster.

It is yet to be determined who the starting second baseman will be for Houston, but there is a fantastic chance for Rodgers to earn regular playing time at Daikin Park.

The former first-round pick should get plenty of chances to prove himself this season. If he can field the ball well and continue to hit for average, he will become the everyday player on the right side of the infield.

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