Astros Will Have One Glaring Weakness in Left Field Despite Star's Position Change

Even if everything goes well with the Houston Astros star changing positions, there is still going to be a glaring weakness in left field.

Sep 22, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) looks up after a play during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are having Jose Altuve go through an outfield crash course.

With the veteran getting set to move into left field for the first time in his professional career, the window of preperation was small considering neither party thought of the idea until late in the offseason when it appeared like they might actually be able to re-sign Alex Bregman.

Even after their star signed elsewhere, the idea of this position change has turned into a reality.

Altuve will be getting reps in left field during the upcoming season, though how often he plays out there remains to be seen.

Despite him having never played anywhere but the infield since becoming a professional, there's reason to believe he can be effective.

For one, his speed is his strength, something the coaching staff is leaning into as they figure out what Altuve can and cannot do at this stage of his learning curve. The raw ability to accelerate is what is being focused on, with him getting to certain spots rapidly which should help him when it comes to fielding fly balls.

If this works, the Astros will have boosted the weakest unit of their roster.

With offense in the outfield group being a major question mark, adding the hitting ability of Altuve into the mix creates a much rosier outlook.

That's a big "if," though, and Houston is hoping the crash course works effectively so he's at least serviceable in the field and isn't making blunders that could cost them wins.

But even if it does work, there's no changing one aspect of Altuve's game that will be the biggest weakness for him in left field; his lack of arm strength.

Per Baseball Savant, only nine infielders in all of Major League Baseball had a weaker arm than him when it came to throwing speed, putting him in the seventh percentile of arm strength.

That doesn't bode well for his ability to field his position when it comes to holding runners, preventing extra-base hits and throwing anyone out on plays at the plate.

Knowing this, the Astros are preparing to make some changes to where the cut-off man is positioned.

"Houston can mask the deficiency by putting its cut-off man deeper into left field, but [Jason] Bell and [Dave] Clark believe Altuve will be capable of accurate throws. Both emphasized keeping throws low and creating more carry," wrote Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

The hope is accuracy will get the ball to the infielder in a position where they can make a throw of their own that can hold baserunners or prevent runs, something that will certainly be tested early and often during the season.

All of this is an experiment, and it's something they're hoping gets hashed out during the spring.

It will be interesting to see how often manager Joe Espada deploys a lineup with Altuve in left field over the course of the 162-game schedule, especially if the weaknesses start to outweigh the positives.

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