Jose Altuve won't be the only Astros infielder receiving reps in the outfield

Seeing Jose Altuve catching fly balls in the Houston Astros' outfield down in West Palm Beach must be making fans rub their eyes a little bit. Altuve made no bones about his willingness to play in the outfield during the Alex Bregman negotiations with the Astros. Now that Bregman is gone, some fans probably thought that Altuve-to-the-outfield nonsense would end.

Not so fast, my friends. Altuve has been seen out there during spring training with others in the outfield. Even Mauricio Dubón, who primarily has been an infielder, is doing some work there too. But Zach Dezenzo, who primarily has been a corner infielder during his career, is putting in some time in the outfield as well. While Astros fans might find this a bit worrisome, the team lost a veteran outfielder's glove when Kyle Tucker was traded to the Chicago Cubs.

Zach Dezenzo offers Astros manager Joe Espada more options

Altuve is unlikely to become a full-time outfielder. Dezenzo, however, might be able to make the shift. Doing so can give him a shot at more at-bats and give Astros manager Joe Espada another option during the season.

In 62 at-bats last season, Dezenzo hit .242 with two home runs and eight RBI. Dezenzo had those two homers and two doubles among his 15 hits after being called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on in early-August.

Do we need to review Altuve's numbers? I think not. His status as the greatest Astros player of all time has been cemented. No one else, for a long time, will touch his efforts as a second baseman. Altuve's leadership is shown through his on-field play and off-field connections.

Watching him go out into the outfield and shag fly balls just endures him even more to his teammates and fans. There are some who see this as a permanent move for Altuve, but it's more more likely to see Dezenzo get more time in the outfield than the former MVP when the Grapefruit League begins this week.

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