Houston Astros Face Unconventional Choices to Replace Departed Production

The Houston Astros have some interesting choices to make to try and replace the departing production from this offseason.

Nick Ziegler | Feb 22, 2025

Oct 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second base Jose Altuve (27) hits a single in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

With Spring Training underway for the Houston Astros, the franchise is heading into a year of uncertainty after a wild offseason.

While some changes were to be expected to come for the Astros this winter, predicting how things shook out would have been a stretch.

Houston traded away Kyle Tucker and lost Alex Bregman in free agency. Losing both of these players was a shocking development for the team considering the amount of success both have had.

Even though the Astros aren’t rebuilding, they certainly have retooled this winter. The team wasn’t comfortable going over a certain number in terms of spending, but now they face a lot of pressure with all of the new faces on this team.

The trading of Tucker did result in some options coming back at third base to help replace Bregman, with Isaac Paredes likely starting at the hot corner in 2025.

However, while they might have a third baseman to replace one star, they didn’t receive anything to help an outfield unit that was weak outside of Tucker last year.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN recently wrote about the outfield situation for the Astros after the loss of Tucker. As of now, it appears to be anyone’s guess who will replace the star's production.

“Is it newcomer Ben Gamel's job to lose, or will holdover Chas McCormick win the battle? Or will someone else open some eyes during the spring and surprise everyone?”

Gamel was re-signed by the Astros this winter after making a solid impression last season. Throughout his career, the 32-year-old has slashed .252.334/.382. However, as mostly a journeyman veteran, he has only had a WAR of 1.0 or higher once in his career.

Where the replacement in production in the outfield really might come from is from an All-Star infielder.

With the recent signing of Brendan Rodgers, it seems like Houston will be all systems go to move Jose Altuve to left field.

Due to the second baseman struggling defensively the last few years, moving him to the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup without having him being as much as a defensive liability could be the overall upgrade this team needs to contend.

Altuve could end up being their top offensive producer in the outfield if the move comes to fruition.

Navigating left field in Houston can be a challenge with the quirks of the ballpark, but Altuve has seemed willing to make the move.

Since the replacement for Tucker isn’t a one-for-one at his position, it is a risky move the Astros are willing to make.

Keeping Altuve's bat in the lineup, even if it is in the outfield could help the unit's offensive output a lot.

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