HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- The Astros have not brought up a position change with Jose Altuve, but the nine-time All-Star said Saturday he’ll play wherever the team needs him to play if it means he gets to remain teammates with Alex Bregman.
“For Alex, I’ll do whatever,” Altuve said. “Whatever I have to do for him to stay, I’m willing to do.”
With the addition of Christian Walker in free agency and the acquisition of Isaac Paredes via a trade, the only way a reunion with Bregman will work is if someone moves to the outfield, and Altuve would be most likely to make the move.
Over the course of a 14-year Major League career, Altuve has played more than 15,000 defensive innings- only six have come away from second base. He played four innings of shortstop in 2016 and returned there for two innings three seasons later.
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When asked if he’s ever played the outfield before, the 5-foot-6 Altuve deadpanned, “Have you seen me?”
Three hours earlier, Astros general manager Dana Brown called re-signing Bregman a "long shot", but added the door for a reunion with Bregman is “cracked” open after it appeared the two-time All-Star and 2024 Gold Glove winner was destined to sign elsewhere.
For Altuve, who was adamant the team needed to and would re-sign Bregman, the last couple of months have been a roller coaster.
“I thought he's going to be back for sure," Altuve said. "Then I thought he's not coming back for sure. Now I'm like, OK, in the middle."
Altuve has spoken to Bregman a “few” times over the offseason, but has mostly avoided talking about Bregman’s contract situation.
“I want him back,” Altuve reiterated Saturday. “He’s a big part of our team, and he’s definitely going to make this thing better if he stays, so we’re really praying and hoping that he stays.”
Altuve has already lost one All-Star teammate this winter after the Astros dealt Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, a trade Altuve said he was “a little bit surprised” by, but as he enters the first year of the five-year extension he signed last offseason, Altuve is bullish about the team’s direction.
“I think we’re gonna win,” Altuve said. “We’re gonna keep winning. We got players. They’re gonna help this team win. We have an owner that likes to win, so I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.”
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