Astros' potential Alex Bregman reunion comes with shocking Jose Altuve twist

Throughout the 2024 MLB season, fans wondered if the Houston Astros would re-sign Alex Bregman. Now in January, Bregman remains available in free agency. The chances of a Bregman-Astros reunion are slim, but according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the third baseman could still end up in Houston.

"The Houston Astros are keeping the door ajar for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman to return, but are not optimistic. Bregman has serious offers from at least 2 teams.
If the Astros pulled it off, Bregman could stay at 3B, Isaac Paredes move to 2B and Jose Altuve move to LF," Nightengale wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Bregman is still likely to sign elsewhere. According to Nightengale, though, the Astros are still considering a reunion. However, Bregman also reportedly has "serious offers" from two other teams.

Bregman rumors have swirled throughout the offseason. The report that he could return is not especially surprising, but Jose Altuve possibly moving to left field stands out as a shocking twist to the situation.

Astros' potential Alex Bregman reunion comes with shocking Jose Altuve twist

Altuve, 34, has played at the MLB level since 2011. He has spent his entire big league career in Houston with the Astros. Most importantly for the conversation amid this specific topic, Altuve has played second base in all but two of his MLB games played in the field. He played one game at shortstop in 2016 and one game at shortstop in 2019, but has spent every other contest in which he has played in the field at second base, per Baseball Reference.

Moving to shortstop would be one thing, but left field would obviously be a big change. According to Nightengale, the Astros could move Altuve to left field, Isaac Paredes to third base, and Alex Bregman to second in the event that Bregman re-signs with the Astros.

Although this defensive set up would be quite intriguing to analyze, it may not even come to fruition if Bregman signs elsewhere. Altuve is known as one of the best second baseman in all of MLB, so watching him play left field would be an entirely new experience for Astros fans.

With spring training right around the corner, this will be a situation to closely monitor. Will Bregman return to Houston? Has Altuve played his final game at second base? Only time will tell, but change is seemingly inevitable, whether it is Bregman signing with a new ball club or Altuve switching positions.