Houston Astros: 3 replacements for Jose Altuve after World Baseball Classic injury
By Kevin Henry
Houston Astros could replace Jose Altuve with David Hensley
Take a peek at FanGraphs projected Opening Day roster for the Astros and you will see that the site has already put Hensley into the Opening Day lineup at second base, and that projection makes a lot of sense.
Hensley logged just 26 at-bats last season with the Astros after being called up from Triple-A on August 20, completing a rocket of a journey from Double-A to MLB last season. Hensley played five different positions during his short time with the Astros in 2022, including 10.0 innings over five games at second base.
The good news for Astros fans is that Hensley showed well in his short amount of time in the Majors last season (.345/.441/.586) and that has continued this spring, with Hensley, who will turn 27 on March 28, slashing .308/.419/.538 and a pair of home runs in 31 plate appearances.
It’s clear the Astros were planning to use Hensley in a bigger role in 2023, but now that role will likely be expanded to a focus on second base while Altuve is recovering. When the Astros open the season at home on March 30 against the Chicago White Sox, it’s very possible that Hensley will be the club’s starting second baseman.