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Astros finally come to Jose Altuve realization rest of MLB knows all too well

Jose Altuve has a long way to go at his new position.
ByZachary Rotman|
Mar 2, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Jose Altuve (27) throws to home plate but cannot retire Washington Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (not pictured) during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Mar 2, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Jose Altuve (27) throws to home plate but cannot retire Washington Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (not pictured) during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Jose Altuve has played 15,225.1 innings in the field during his 14-year MLB career. 15,219.1 of those innings have come at second base, with the other six coming at shortstop. Altuve played in 3,125 minor league innings with 3,056.2 of them coming at second base. The other 68.1 frames came at third base. He did not play a single inning in the outfield prior to the 2025 campaign.

That simple fact made the Houston Astros' plan of using Jose Altuve as a left fielder in 2025 an interesting one, to say the least. Yes, he has struggled mightily in the field in recent years, even recording a career-worst -9 OAA according to Baseball Savant in 2024, but moving a 34-year-old who had never played an inning in the outfield professionally to the outfield seemingly out of nowhere felt like a risky idea.

He didn't see much action in his first taste of left field, but Sunday's action proved that he has a long way to go before he masters his new position.

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Jose Altuve's transition to left field will not be an easy one

You'd think the biggest issue with an infielder moving to the outfield would be catching fly balls. Just ask Jasson Dominguez how difficult it can be to master all of the angles in left field. For Altuve, it might be the throwing. He wound up catching the only fly ball that came his way on Sunday, but had a throwing error earlier in the game, allowing James Wood of the Washington Nationals to advance to third base from second base. Wood wound up scoring three pitches later on a single.

Altuve's throw wasn't terrible, and he did do a good job getting to the ball quickly after Luis Guillorme's error, but the throw, especially from where he was in the outfield, was not close to good enough.

Chances are, the throws will get better with more reps, but throwing issues are nothing new for Altuve, who has a history of the "yips" at second base. If Altuve had trouble throwing the ball from second base, how will his throwing be when playing in a much tougher in left field?

At the end of the day, the Astros don't need Altuve to be a Gold Glover in left field. They've won plenty of games with Yordan Alvarez, a well below-average fielder, playing that position. They simply need Altuve to make the routine plays and throws in left field. It's early, but Sunday's game showed that Altuve isn't quite where the Astros need him to be yet.

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