Houston Astros News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Astros Have Major Conundrum at Second Base This Offseason

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 8:57 PM ET

The Houston Astros will evaluate everything when it comes to their roster and organization this offseason after a disappointing showing in 2025 resulted in them missing the playoffs.

Changes to the coaching staff and other in-house positions have already been made in the hopes that things will naturally improve. But those could also be a precursor of what's to come this winter as the Astros try to get back to the top of the mountain.

One thing that has to get figured out is their logjam in the infield. Their acquisition of Carlos Correa ahead of the trade deadline to mitigate the loss of Isaac Paredes has created a complicated outlook heading into 2026.

The unit comprised of Correa and Paredes at third base, Jeremy Pena at shortstop, Jose Altuve at second base, Christian Walker at first and the utility men of Mauricio Dubon and Ramon Urias is too many to have when everyone is healthy.

How Should Astros Approach Their Infield Logjam?

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The easiest thing to suggest is trading away either Paredes or Walker. That would alleviate parts of the logjam since moving Paredes to another team would free up space. And if Walker was dealt, then Paredes could take over at first base.

In an ideal world, Houston would be able to move off Walker and his contract and shift Paredes to first. But after the season Walker had, combined with his age, he is likely not going to bring back a major return if he generates any interest at all.

When looking at things from the perspective that the Astros won't be able to make a trade, then it gets much more complicated and calls into question what role Altuve is going to have on this team going forward.

Astros Have to Make Hard Decision About Jose Altuve

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

One of the main reasons why Houston wanted to move Altuve to left field is because of his declining defense at the keystone. In 2024, the Astros had minus-11 defensive runs saved as a team because Altuve was the primary second baseman. But this year, after emphasizing improved defense, they were plus-five in defensive runs saved.

Unfortunately, that number would have been even higher if Altuve didn't play the most at that position down the stretch, something that occurred because of injuries across the board. Now, heading into 2026, they have to figure out a plan. Because if Altuve is going to be the primary second baseman once again, then they have to be comfortable with not having an elite defense.

That would also further the root cause of the current infield logjam and would likely block top prospect Brice Matthews further, which would hurt the team's future. However, there might not be a better alternative option, since Altuve didn't necessarily take to left field in a fashion they expected.

Keeping him in the grass would present its own challenges, though, which makes moving him to a full-time designated hitter role more likely. But then that creates a question about where Yordan Alvarez would play, since he already had major injury concerns before this injury-riddled nightmare season.

All in all, it's safe to say the infield situation for the Astros is a mess. And the root cause of it is at second base where Altuve is too valuable to leave off the field but is also not good enough to boost an infield unit anymore.

How Houston goes about alleviating this situation is a major thing to monitor throughout the winter, and it might cause the front office to get creative.