After being a powerhouse in the American League West for the better part of a decade, the Houston Astros missed the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2016. Now, three years removed from their last World Series championship, their current roster looks much different than it did just a few seasons earlier.
Alex Bregman departed last offseason via free agency to join the Boston Red Sox. Kyle Tucker was flipped to the Cubs when it became clear that a Houston extension was unlikely. Shortstop Jeremy Peña and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez both missed significant time in 2025 due to injury. Staff ace Framber Valdez will almost certainly depart in free agency this upcoming offseason. He’ll follow in the tracks of future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who left after 2024. Even manager Dusty Baker is gone, retiring after the 2023 season. The sole key member left from that 2022 season to see significant playing time in 2025 was second baseman Jose Altuve.
The greatest player in franchise history, Altuve has long been synonymous with the Astros’ success as well as their controversies. The 15 season MLB veteran has long been considered one of the best players in the game, winning the AL MVP in 2017 and being named to nine all-star games. The seven-time Silver Slugger has a career postseason slash line of .271/.337/.505 and an OPS of .841, winning the AL Championship Series MVP in 2019.
At the same time, that success has come under scrutiny due to his alleged involvement in the 2017 Astros sign stealing scandal and the 2019 buzzer accusations from the 2020 offseason. While multiple teammates have said that Altuve was one of only a few Astros players openly opposed to the 2017 system and the 2019 accusations are just that, much of Altuve’s success will always remain tainted for some. There’s a possibility that these purported transgressions will be the only factors that derail his eventual Hall of Fame candidacy.
No matter how you view the peak of Altuve’s career, his production seems to be on the downturn. The 2025 season marked the worst full season of his career since his age 23 season in 2013. He accumulated just 0.5 WAR and was essentially a replacement level player. His .265 batting average was down 35 points from 2024 and his on base percentage also dropped by 21 points. Both his OPS and OPS+ have fallen in each of the last three seasons. Despite this decline, Altuve was still able to accumulate 2.3 offensive due to the majority of his numbers remaining above average.
It was on defense where Altuve hurt the team most. Despite winning a Gold Glove in 2015, the 35-year-old has never been considered a good defender by most metrics. In 2025, however, he was one of the worst defenders in all of baseball. According to the Fielding Bible, Altuve was worth –-18 defensive runs saved, the third worst mark in the league. His work at second base came in as the seventh worst in the league, worth -7 DRS. The 2025 season marked the first time that the Astros attempted to move Altuve off second base, trying him for 47 games in left field. He was even worse on the grass, being worth -10 DRS and ranking as the league’s worst left fielder despite not even playing a third of a season’s worth of games at the position. That showing was what prompted Houston to move him back to the keystone midseason. Overall, Altuve was worth -2.2 defensive WAR.
That exceptionally poor defensive showing led to Altuve being penciled in as the designated hitter in 49 contests, easily a career high mark. While that arrangement helped to get his bat in the lineup while avoiding his negative defense, it isn’t a viable long-term solution for the Astros lineup as it is currently situated. Yordan Alvarez played just 48 games for the Astros in 2025 but is one of the best pure hitters in MLB. In 2024, Alvarez put up a .959 OPS with 35 home runs, good for a 5.9 oWAR. The only downside was that he too is an extremely poor defender in left field, being worth -1.6 dWAR over 53 games in left.
The Crawford Boxes at Daikin Park make left field in Houston significantly smaller than right, meaning a switch to the other side stands unlikely to benefit either player. Yordan Alvarez has played over 300 more games than Altuve at the DH position, despite playing half as long. With Alvarez finishing the season on the injured list with a severe sprained ankle, it’s likely that Houston would rather keep him at DH to prevent further lower body injuries.
That leaves Altuve likely to return to second base full time in 2026. There are signs in his 2025 underlying numbers that suggest a turnaround offensively is at least possible. He posted a batting average on balls in play over 40 points lower than his career average. His strikeout rate went down compared to the last two seasons, while his walk rate went up. His home run rate was also up, and his 26 home runs were his most since 2022.
There is hope that Altuve could at least get back to his 2024 all-star level. However, that kind of bounce back is far from guaranteed. His 2025 production won’t be enough to outweigh his negative defensive production over a full season. Using Spotrac’s estimation of the Astros’ 2025 payroll, Altuve’s $30 million contract took up just over 14% of the 2025 number. Altuve stands to make the same amount next season, and the Astros will need him to play to that level if they hope to make it back to the postseason in 2026.