Houston Astros star Jose Altuve — who made his MLB debut in 2011 — primarily played second base through most of his career up until 2025. The '25 campaign saw Altuve split his time between second base, left field and designated hitter. According to manager Joe Espada, Altuve is expected to shift back to primarily playing second base in 2026, however.
“Astros manager Joe Espada reiterated today that Jose Altuve will play predominantly second base this season, but will get an occasional start in left field,” Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Altuve made occasional appearances at shortstop and designated hitter from 2011-2024, but almost all of his time in the field went spent at second base. In 2025, though, Altuve played 66 games at second, 49 at DH and 47 in the outfield. It was a surprising decision to move the team's franchise player to a new position in his mid-30s.
It seems the move did not stick given Espada's update on Saturday. While the nine-time All-Star could make a few appearances in the outfield, Astros fans will get to see Altuve at his natural big league position for the most part during the upcoming campaign.
From an offensive standpoint, Altuve endured ups and downs last year. He finished the season with a .265/.329/.442 slash line to go along with 26 home runs, 77 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Altuve also played in 155 games. He's appeared in at least 141 contests in four of the past five seasons.
In 2026, Jose Altuve will do everything he can to help the Astros return to the postseason.
