The Dynasty Lives On
Unsurprisingly, Jose Altuve has signed an extension to remain with the Houston Astros through 2029. What does this mean? It means we have to deal with the Houston Astros being a juggernaut for a bit longer. I think this news went under the radar since it was so expected. Do people realize that Altuve, Alvarez, and Kyle Tucker are together in Houston through 2026? That is two more years of this team! That doesn’t include if they sign Tucker and Bregman to extensions which seems imminent. Peep the link to an article that came out YESTERDAY from MLB writer Brian McTaggart on the Bregman latest.
Take a quick look at the projected Houston lineup and the years they have those players under control. A glance tells me this team isn’t going anywhere. Not to mention they have several notable prospects coming up with OF Jacob Melton (2025), OF Joey Loperfido (2024), OF Justin Dirden (2024), and 3B/2B Zach Dezenzo (2025) all on the way to reinforce this hitting machine.
2024 Projected Houston Lineup
Jose Altuve - 2B (Fresh Extension - 2030)
Alex Bregman - 3B (Arb. Extension - 2025)***
Yordan Alvarez - DH (Arb. Extension - 2029)
Jose Abreu - 1B (Free Agent - 2026)
Kyle Tucker - OF (Arb. - 2026)***
Yainer Diaz - C (Pre-Arb.)
Chas McCormick - OF (Arb. - 2027)
Jeremy Pena - SS (Pre-Arb.)
Jake Meyers - OF (Pre-Arb.)
It’s not hard to tell that Houston is loaded and if they extend Tucker and Bregman, the lineup will be in a good place for a long time. The question is will they be able to sign both of these guys? Bregman feels like an Astros lifer but I cannot figure out if Tucker will stay or sign for a pile of money somewhere else.
It all starts with Altuve. Jose Altuve is the heart and the soul of this team and there is no doubt in my mind about that. Altuve is such a talented baseball player and year by year we brush over him like he is just another good player…he is like 1st ballot Hall of Fame good.
Jose Altuve’s Career Accomplishments:
8× All-Star (2012, 2014–2018, 2021, 2022)
2× World Series champion (2017, 2022)
AL MVP (2017)
All-MLB First Team (2022)
All-MLB Second Team (2019)
ALCS MVP (2019)
Babe Ruth Award (2017)
Gold Glove Award (2015)
6× Silver Slugger Award (2014–2018, 2022)
AL Hank Aaron Award (2017)
3× AL batting champion (2014, 2016, 2017)
2× AL stolen base leader (2014, 2015)
AP Athlete of the Year (2017)
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2017)
Hit for the cycle on August 28, 2023
It will be very hard for voters not to put him in the Hall after his 1st ballot, especially after a few more years of mashing. I think Altuve knew he could be one of those guys who could remain with one organization his whole career and that is why he got this extension done now. Houston will have to get creative to get the money together for Tucker and with Altuve committing for the long haul it makes it easier to sell to Tucker on remaining in Houston.
Astros fans better appreciate this man and what he has done for this city. He will go down as one of the All-Time great second basemen, maybe the best ever.
2023 Statistics:
2.8 WAR | 360 AB | 112 H | 17 HR | .311 BA | 51 RBI | 14 SB | .393 OBP | .522 SLG | .915 OPS
Career Statistics:
49.3 WAR | 6665 AB | 2047 H | .307 BA | 747 RBI | 293 SB | .364 OBP | .471 SLG | .834 OPS