Why It's Too Early to Worry About Jose Altuve Struggling Before Opening Day

Jose Altuve will be just fine this season, and here's an article detailing why:

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The future Hall of Famer and all-time great Houston Astros' second baseman Jose Altuve has struggled mightily this spring training, but that's nothing new. The 35-year-old has posted a .176 combined average over his last four spring training stints, but he's still performing at a high level each regular season.

Last season, Altuve put together a .184 average over 14 spring games with 11 strikeouts. He went on to hit the most homers (26) since 2022 (28). His strikeout rate was higher, and his walk rate was lower in March and April, but once he got going in May, he excelled.

This annual theme for Altuve is nothing new, and Astros fans shouldn't be concerned despite his alarming .129/.182/.408 slash line this spring. Even if Altuve were to struggle well into the season, he's not going anywhere.

Altuve Is Deeply Entrenched at Second Base in Houston, Even in the Latter Stage of His Career

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Houston is fully committed to the Venezuelan native, and rightfully so. He signed a somewhat shocking 5-year, $125 million deal that kicked in before the 2025 season. While the money in this contract is heavily front-loaded through 2027, it won't officially expire until after his age-39 season at the end of 2029.

Even with the entrance of top prospect Brice Matthews and the crowded infield consisting of four all-stars and an elite slugger, Altuve is a constant.

While the spring struggles are nothing new to Altuve, he historically doesn't struggle out of the gate of the regular season. In 2024, he posted a .347/.421/.594 slash line in April with six big flies and seven doubles. His 2022-2023 April appearances were limited due to injury, but he slugged a 1.026 OPS over his first full month of 2022 in May.

In fact, his career .309 batting average in March/April is his third highest out of any month. For what it's worth, his highest strikeout numbers and lowest homerun numbers have been in March/April throughout his career. But that doesn't matter as much when he's hitting .309.

If anything, not playing for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic will hurt him the most. Not only did he miss beating Team USA to win the WBC, but he has also shone during each regular season immediately following his two WBC appearances in 2017 and 2023.

Source: Jose Altuve won't participate in the World Baseball Classic at the request of the Astroshttps://t.co/tl7Uyu6XLZ

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) January 26, 2026

There's absolutely nothing to worry about with Altuve, and Astros fans have come to know this. His infamous spring camp performances have been well documented over the years, and it's never held him back. At this point in the veteran's career, there's no reason it should happen this time around.