Houston Astros Skipper Reveals Defensive Plan for Franchise Legend

Joe Espada has revealed what the defensive plans will be for the Houston Astros legend this season.

Feb 14, 2025; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Houston Astros manager Joe Espada (19) looks on during a spring training workout at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros had a shocking offseason for many reasons.

The first that garnered attention was trading away Kyle Tucker, something that set up the possibility of them letting Alex Bregman walk in free agency which eventually became a reality despite their attempts to re-sign him.

But perhaps the biggest eye-opener was their announcement that Jose Altuve would move from his spot at second base into left field.

What started as a hypothetical regarding defensive positioning if they were to get Bregman back in the mix turned into a full-fledged position change when the Astros didn't address the outfield concerns that were present on the roster even before Tucker was dealt.

Altuve has been working hard to get acclimated with a position he's never played in his professional career, but nobody really knows if things are going to work out in a positive fashion defensively.

Because of that, there are some skeptics about how often he'll stand in the grass this season.

Houston continues to be adamant that Altuve is going to be their left fielder, and that was doubled down upon by manager Joe Espada when he laid out the team's defensive plans for the franchise legend heading into the year.

"I would like to leave him at one position for the majority of games. The back and forth is something that I am going to avoid. I think if we commit to left field, he'll get more starts there in left field than second base — unless something changes ... But right now, the plan is for him to play the majority of his games in left field ...," he said per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle.

That's pretty decisive.

Many of the buttons the Astros have pushed throughout their dynastic run have paid off for them, letting star players walk out of the building when other teams would have done everything in their power to re-sign them.

This is an offshoot of that mindset.

Instead of spending to upgrade the outfield unit following the decision to trade Tucker, they are just going to move Altuve into left in a position change that could both improve the infield defense and increase the offensive output of the outfield unit.

Whether it works remains to be seen, but it's clear Houston is now fully committed to playing Altuve in left field, something that didn't seem possible a couple of months ago.