Recent Astros Lineup Reveals Surprising Defensive Plans for Former MVP

The Houston Astros may have revealed some of their plans for their former MVP with Monday's lineup.

Mar 29, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Jose Altuve (27) hits a single during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

After a turbulent offseason, the Houston Astros made the surprising decision at the start of spring training to move All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve to the outfield.

Jose Altuve experienced some growing pains in left field during the spring. Still, the Astros decided to stick with him at the position when the regular season started.

The former AL MVP started the first three games of the season in the corner outfield. He made all four of his plays in the opening series against the New York Mets, so there has been some defensive improvement.

Houston manager Joe Espada was quick to recognize Altuve's impressive work ethic.

“I know he’s going to continue to work, regardless of how the first series went. I thought he played well," Espada said, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "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."

However, his move to the outfield doesn't mean he won't play second base at all this year.

In fact, the 34-year-old veteran started at his original position during Monday's 7-2 loss against the San Francisco Giants.

He converted all five of his chances into outs, so it was a clean game for Altuve in the field.

The reasoning behind Altuve's move back to the infield for the game seems to be dependent on Houston's starting pitcher.

Ronel Blanco started Monday's game for the Astros, and he allows a lot of fly balls. Blanco's ground-ball rate was just 39.9% last year, ranking in the 36th percentile among qualified pitchers. A majority of those balls were pulled as well, making fly balls to the corner outfield spots more likely.

Given that Altuve is still learning, Espada didn't want to risk exposing him and potentially damaging his confidence.

On the other hand, Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown started Houston's first two games of the season. They are both huge ground-ball pitchers. Valdez had a 61.7% ground-ball rate last year, putting him in the 99th percentile. Brown was in the 81st percentile last year with a 48.9% ground-ball rate.

Now, Altuve did start in the outfield with Spencer Arrighetti on the mound, who is much more of a fly-ball pitcher.

Still, the defensive plans for the nine-time All-Star appear evident. Depending on the type of pitcher on the mound, he could still see some time in the infield.