Jose Altuve's outfield gaffes have Astros fans concerned, but for the wrong reasons

It happened again. Jose Altuve, who's making the move from second base to left field, made another mistake in the outfield during the Houston Astros' spring training game on Tuesday. After making a spectacular running grab earlier in the game, Altuve dropped a can of corn that allowed two runs to cross the plate.

This was one of those "take the good with the bad" type of situations. While there's been plenty of good as the former MVP shifts his attention from the infield dirt to the outfield grass, there's also been plenty of bad. This is the second big-time gaffe that Altuve has made in the outfield this spring, and Astros fans are beginning to worry.

Altuve's struggles might be the least of Houston's concerns when it comes to the Astros outfield. Houston has a patchwork group of outfielders set to open the season, and while Astros fans believe that this team has what it takes to make a run at the AL West title once again, hope is not a strategy...at least not a good one.

Jose Altuve's outfield gaffes have Astros fans concerned, but for the wrong reasons

Fans have seen a handful of miscues from Altuve this spring, and the reason there's been so much emphasis on this experiment working is due to the fact that Houston has no backup plan. At this point, it's essentially Altuve or bust. But the same is true of center and right field too.

After trading Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs during the offseason and watching both Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers struggle at the plate in 2024, Houston's solution was to bring back Ben Gamel. Seriously?

People will tell you that spring training stats don't matter. While that's true to a certain extent, you still shouldn't like a player like McCormick, who's coming off the worst season of his career, hitting .148 through 13 games. Gamel is only hitting .190 and Meyers has struck out eight times while only drawing one walk.

Maybe Cam Smith can make the move from third base to right field. He'd better be able to do that, because Houston has no other options. The Astros have high hopes for top outfield prospect Jacob Melton as well, but he was jettisoned from camp fairly early this spring. That's typically a sign that the team had no intention of adding him to the Opening Day roster.

Altuve will be under the microscope this season, and that's understandable. But if he fails to produce as the team's primary left fielder, it speaks more about the organization's lack of preparedness for this season than Altuve's ability to adapt.

More Houston Astros News and Rumors