Mariners fans are loving hated rival Jose Altuve's failures at new position

Seattle Mariners fans have gotten used to seeing Jose Altuve at second base for the Houston Astros — too used to it, honestly. He’s been a Gold Glove defender, a constant headache for Seattle, and a key piece of Houston’s success over the years.

This spring, however, the Astros made a decision that has left a lot of people scratching their heads: moving Altuve to left field.

Supposedly, it was all part of a plan to re-sign Alex Bregman as a free agent. As Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported in January, Altuve moving to left field would allow the Astros to move newcomer Isaac Paredes to second in the event that Bregman, a Gold Glove-winning third baseman, returned to Houston.

This all sounded great, but there proved to be one major problem: Bregman hadn't signed with Astros yet and he never did, spurning them for the Boston Red Sox. By moving Altuve to left field anyway, the Astros now have their best second baseman running around the outfield like a Little Leaguer who got stuck in the wrong position.

Astros decision to move Altuve to left field looking like a colossal failure

The early signs point to this move being laughably terrible. Spring training has been a disaster for Altuve in left field. He looks lost, his routes are questionable at best, and there have already been a few plays that make you wonder if he’s ever even watched an outfielder before.

Sure, he’s fast and athletic, but left field is a different world from the infield. Reading fly balls, taking the right angles, knowing when to dive or when to play it safe — these are skills that take time to develop. At 34 years old, Altuve doesn’t exactly have that luxury of time on his side.

It’s bizarre to see a player of his caliber being put in such an awkward position. We have seen infielders switch positions as they get older, or a center fielder move to a corner spot in an effort to stay healthy, but this is completely random.

This is a guy with eight All-Star appearances, an MVP, a Gold Glove and multiple championships under his belt. The Astros could’ve just left him where he’s comfortable and dominant. Instead, they've committed to the bit and could already regret that decision.

Mariners fans shouldn't be complaining. The more chaos in Houston, the better. If they want to keep Altuve out there looking like a lost puppy searching for his baseball, fine by Mariner fans. But from a baseball perspective, this whole situation makes no sense. The Astros took an elite second baseman and turned him into a below-average left fielder — all for a contract that never even happened.

If this keeps up, don’t be surprised if Houston quietly moves him back to second base before the season really gets going. Though that would result in an outfield of Jake Meyers, Chas McCormick and Yordan Alvarez or former Mariner, Ben Gamel. Either way, this could be a vastly different Houston team in 2025.