Yordan Alvarez had perfect response after Astros fans freaked out over diving catch

Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez is known for his prowess at the plate. Since 2019, Alvarez has AVERAGED a .961 OPS and is basically a lock to hit 30+ homers a year even if he misses a bit of time due to injury.

His 2024 season got off to a bit of a slow start, but he is still slashing .282/.355/.476 with 11 homers, and his latest multi-homer game on Saturday gives hope that he could heat up as the weather does.

However, the one thing he definitely isn't known for is his defense in the outfield, which is precisely why the Astros have generally preferred to have Alvarez DH when possible in the past. That said, manager Joe Espada is still tinkering with his lineups to try and find ideal configurations while also giving guys plenty of playing time, and that led the Astros to leverage Alvarez's versatility by playing him left field on Sunday.

After a flare that saw Alvarez lumber over and make an objectively great sliding catch straight into the wall, fans were cheering but also hoping that he never tries to make such a play again.

Yordan Alvarez made a great play in the outfield that he should never try again

First off, great job by Alvarez to track down this ball. Again, he isn't a great fielder and he runs very much like how you would expect a 6-foot-5, 240-pound player to. This was a tough play with a ball tailing away from him towards the wall. However, Alvarez does have a history of getting banged up, and the last thing the Astros need is for him to hurt himself in this manner.

There were certainly plenty of Astros fans that agreed with that assessment.

Fortunately, Alvarez avoided hurting himself on the play and it was a tremendous catch in a close game. While the Astros ultimately lost to the Twins, his catch helped keep the game close, and since he emerged unscathed, there was no harm, no foul. It also appears that he learned his lesson and made sure to protect himself the next chance he got.

Now that Alvarez appears to be breaking out of his offensive doldrums, Houston is going to need him to stay on the field to have any chance in 2024, especially given their early season struggles. If that means letting a foul ball or single drop here and there so that he can keep his body out of harm's way, so be it.

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