The Astros announced this afternoon star second baseman Jose Altuve underwent successful surgery to repair the right thumb fracture he suffered in the World Baseball Classic. He won’t begin baseball activities for two months and will obviously need some time to work back into game shape from that point forward.
Given that timetable, it’s hard to envision Altuve playing in a big league game before June. Houston finds itself in a virtually unheard of position entering a season with some uncertainty at the keystone. Whomever gets the nod next Thursday against the White Sox will be the first player other than Altuve to start at second base on Opening Day since Bill Hall 12 years ago.
Houston general manager Dana Brown addressed the situation this afternoon (link via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). The first-year GM didn’t rule out the possibility of going outside the organization for infield help but suggested the club preferred to address it with in-house players. “We’re going to look internally first. We have a good, core group of guys here,” Brown said. “We’ll exhaust what we have here in the organization because we do have some good players and we’ve always been interested in depth, (but) sometimes to acquire that depth you have to go outside the organization.”
If the club were to make an addition, it’d presumably be a low-cost depth move. Altuve will obviously take the job back once he’s healthy. It probably doesn’t make much sense to pursue a trade for someone like Isiah Kiner-Falefa; rather, the likelier course of action could be to look to a free agent like Jonathan Villar or a veteran who could opt out of a minor league deal elsewhere before Opening Day.
If the Astros stay internal or merely add a veteran to Triple-A Sugar Land as depth, a pair of players stand out as favorites for second base reps.
Hensley, 27 next week, only has 20 games of big league experience. Four of them came in the postseason, including a pair of starts in the World Series. Those came after a late-season promotion on the heels of an excellent .298/.420/.478 showing in 464 plate appearances with Sugar Land. He only hit 10 home runs but connected on 30 doubles and four triples. More impressively, the right-handed hitter worked walks at an elite 17.2% clip against an average 22.2% strikeout rate. Among Triple-A hitters with 400+ PA’s, only Will Benson had a better on-base percentage while just Jon Singleton, Benson, John Andreoli and Delino DeShields Jr. drew walks at a higher clip.
The San Diego State product now ranks as the #5 prospect in the Houston system at Baseball America. Regarded as a bat-first utility infielder, he predictably draws praise for his plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills. He’s not regarded as a great defender but could offer a decent floor from an on-base perspective towards the back of the Houston lineup.
Dubón, acquired from the Giants last May, offers a very different profile than Hensley. He’s a versatile up-the-middle defender who makes a ton of contact but rarely walks. He’s played 262 MLB games over parts of four seasons, hitting .244/.287/.366 with a 17.2% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk percentage. That’s well below-average offense but he’s held a roster spot on the strength of his glove. Public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have graded him positively at each of second base, shortstop and in center field.
The Honduras native is out of minor league option years. That means the Astros will have to carry him on the active roster if they don’t want to risk losing him. Considering they agreed to a $1.4MM contract to avoid arbitration this offseason, it’s hard to envision they’d let him go. Dubón will be on the roster and could see a decent amount of action at second base but might not hit enough to be a regular.
Depth Options
Offseason waiver claim Rylan Bannon is an option at second or third base. The 26-year-old has only played five MLB games. He’s coming off a .249/.367/.421 showing over 99 games in Triple-A and has attracted interest from a handful of teams on the waiver wire. Houston added glove-first veteran Dixon Machado on a minor league deal over the winter. He’s a .226/.285/.292 hitter in parts of five MLB seasons and has struggled at the plate this spring. Minor leaguers Grae Kessinger and Will Wagner have performed well during non-roster looks in camp but likely aren’t immediate options considering neither has yet played a game at Triple-A.
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Houston’s lineup should remain one of the league’s best even in Altuve’s absence. Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, José Abreu and Jeremy Peña are capable of driving a strong run-scoring group. Still, it’s obviously far from ideal to have both Altuve and Michael Brantley open the season on the shelf as Houston gets their title defense underway. In all likelihood, they’ll be counting on one of Hensley or Dubón to step up early in the year to fill the void.
Hensley or grab a discard at the last minute. There will be someone cut loose that will be serviceable. Hensley has improved every year in the minors though and deserves the chance.
Astros should trade for Scott Kingery (Phillies). The second round pick is having a good spring. No room in the inn for Kingery to be on the 26-man roster. Won’t take much to acquire him. Plus, he can play all over the place.
thoughts and prayers for a 3rd World Series title.
Odor should opt out and sign with Houston. He’s not going to get any playing time in San Diego…
He signed with them to compete for a bench role and claims to like SD. Odor has played well in ST so far so he’ll likely break camp. If I’m not mistaken, Padres has also a righty-heavy bench when things shake out.
I don’t see why IKF doesn’t make sense for the Astros, depending on the Yankees’ asking price. He’s a better hitter than Dubon has been the last three seasons, and they lost a super-utility man in Aledmys Diaz this past off-season. At the very least, they could platoon Dubon and IKF at 2B until Altuve is back.
Get Tony Kemp back from the A’s ? He’s decent, better option than Dubon IMO.
He’s kinda a fan favorite over there, and wouldn’t have much trade value, so I doubt they do it.
IDFK about IKF
He’s a lot better option than dubon, but the asking price will probably be too high. Although I would love to take him from the yankees and for him to have a great year over here.
Nicky Lopez would be a good fit
You realize he had negative WAR last year?
War, in general, is negative. Unless you are Genghis Khan.
The Astros aren’t running anyone out there with a 554 OPS. Although to be fair he had a 744 in his career year in 2021. He had zero homers in over 400 at bats last year. That’s hard to do in this day and age.
Dubon can handle it. He had some big moments with the Giants and he plays a good SS. He just needs to stay within himself.
Dat Bill Hall 2006 season tho.
Hit 35 in 608 plate appearances, then only hit 58 throughout his final 1911 trips to the dish. Season sticks out like a sore thumb on his BBREF page.
We’ll give you Jonathan Schoop for Phil Maton. Reunite the Maton brothers.
Good luck with that. They’re better off starting a rookie.
I still believe David Hensley is some NPC in a baseball video game that Houston somehow made into a real player.
Keston Hiura, anyone?
Great idea….Get him as far away from Milwaukee as possible…
A ham sandwich and a 6 pack of BP balls should do it…
Cheaters forever
I imagine that the Astros r calling the Jays about IF help. Jays r very deep at the keystone, as they have Merrifield, Biggio, Espinal, and youngsters Otto Lopez(probably 26th man), Addison Berger(starting 3rd baseman by next year if Chapman leaves), and Orelvis Martinez(should be ready for the big by next year, plus had a good spring
@Saskatchewan Jaysfan
It should be Biggio. Merrifield is starting, Espinal is backing up the IF, and Barger/Orelvis are options for next year.
biggio would be fun to have on the team, if nothing else for his name
@Nhworley
For the guy going back to the Jays, it would be Biggio plus, and I’m not sure the Astros would part with him.
Neither Dubon or Hensley are the answer. Yes can produce but nothing near what Altuve would have for either. But who knows Hensley could be a surprise.How will B
Rantley being out as well play out. Alvarez and hand issues. Think he had surgery on knees one off season or near end of a season whether hand issue is nerves or arthritis and just needs to rest them. Could Darden be an option in outfield as he has impressed.
ButI think Altuve being out till June or later may not go well with in house options
Neither Dubon or Hensley will come close to Altuve’s level of production, but very few players in major league baseball can. The Astros aren’t looking to replace Altuve’s production, but someone who can hold down the fort until he is back.
Seems like Hensley is the obvious choice. They should give the job to him. His offensive potential is greater than anyone they can likely aquire at this time of year. He has hit very well in each of the last 2 seasons in the minors and can steal bases. He also hit very well in his 16 game audition last year. He is 27 now so it’s time to find out what they have in him anyway.
FWIW he has also performed well in spring training putting up an .814 OPS with a pair of homeruns and a couple of stolen bases; as well as leading the team with 8 walks.
#freeHensley
Forgot to mention in my previous comment that he had a .420 OBP last year in AAA and a .441 OBP in his 16 mlb games last year. Seems like a great fit for their lineup. Also would be a great story if he succeeds as he was taken 792 overall in the 26th round of the amateur draft. I will certainly be rooting for him.
I think Jonathan Schoop, from the Tigers would be a great option !!……PLEASE ! 🙂
The universe pays us back for the misdeeds we participate in.
Nah, not really.
GO GET JONATHAN VILLAR‼️
I’m with Villar.
Hensley can play second base at least as well as Altuve and can potentially hit as good as Altuve (if he were in a slump).
Daniel Bard Is my hero.
What a terrible thing to say
Sorry. Mike Fiers Is my hero. Daniel is second.
Sliderwitcheese clearly has weird morals and lacks integrity.
The irony of this comment…
There’s no irony here.
Nick Madrigal.
Cardinals will give you Paul DeJong
Out of the box thought: do you really need a second baseman? What about two catchers…fewer stolen bases and wild pitches.
Can’t believe Altuve has been playing that long. The guy is a beast. Played everyday for the most part of his career as well. And.. is 5’6. I always wondered if he found a way to get a little help without getting caught. That 2020, while everything was weird, sure stands out.
If he was going to be out for the whole year, I’d maybe look outside of the organization. Hensley is definitely option #1 & Dubon can fill in as needed.
How bout Norbert the lyin cheatin Robot. A little robotic in his motion but covers a lot of ground, cleans up a lot of messes, and buzzes