Michael Shapiro is a sports reporter for Chron, covering the Astros, Rockets, Texans and every team in town. Michael is a Denver native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and a noted fan of pull-up threes, wide-receiver passes and a good hot fudge sundae.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown shed more light on the reasons why Jose Altuve could log time in the outfield in 2025.

Altuve, who stands 5-foot-6, has never played the outfield at any point over his more than 15,000 defensive innings.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said he expects Altuve to take reps practicing as a left fielder next month during the team's Spring Training in West Palm Beach, Florida. Altuve has never logged a game in the outfield across his 14 MLB seasons, and he's logged just two starts at shortstop, his only non-second-base position to date.

As Alex Bregman may not be part of the Astros anymore, Jose Altuve would do anything to save the relationship,

Moving a star second baseman to the outfield in the later stage of his career is unusual. For the Houston Astros, it is not unprecedented. It was 22 years ago that Craig Biggio made the move at age 37,