Hot Astros will hear the roar of real fans at tonight’s home opener.
Batting, running, sliding, Alvarez’s knees pass tests
ANAHEIM, Calif. — He hit three singles against the shift and blasted a towering home run to left-center field off A’s reliever Lou Trivino, but Yordan Alvarez’s most material accomplishment during the Astros’ season-opening six-game road trip didn’t occur with a bat in his hand.
During the third inning of Sunday afternoon’s series finale in Oakland, Alvarez shuffled from first base for a sizable lead. Two were out, so he had to run on any contact. Yuli Gurriel’s missile to right-center field started the sprint. A’s center fielder Mark Canha could not corral the baseball. Alvarez rounded second and saw third-base coach Omar Lopez wave him home.
Alvarez arrived at the plate, bent his surgically
repaired knees into a figure-four slide and glided across ahead of the throw. He popped up and slapped his teammate’s hands. He glared toward his manager. Aledmys Diaz did, too, in support of a fellow Cuban.
“Everyone was asking when he was going to slide, when he was going to go first to home,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said afterward, “and he did it on the same play.
“(Diaz) said, ‘Hey, man, the guy can slide.’ He hasn’t slid in a couple years. That made me feel great. And it made him feel more confident and comfortable that he’s doing fine.”
Alvarez’s demeanor during spring training suggested he didn’t need any more faith. While Baker and the Astros acknowledged they’d treat him with “kid gloves,” Alvarez reiterated numerous times how healthy he felt. The team built him up slowly throughout camp, keeping him off the field and inside with trainers. On more than one occasion, Alvarez claimed through an interpreter “I feel a lot better than people must think.”
“Spring training, he looked ready,” second baseman Jose Altuve said. “I wasn’t worried about him. He’s that kind of player.
He brings a lot to me. What can I say? For me, he’s one of the best hitters I’ve seen at such a young age.”
Baker still slotted his 23-yearold designated hitter sixth in the opening-day lineup, apparently apprehensive about Alvarez’s running the bases. He struck a two-run double and sprinted into second base during his third atbat. He appeared no worse for the wear, an encouraging sign for an Astros team that will play its home opener against Oakland at Minute Maid Park on Thursday night and is now debating how best to take Alvarez to the next level.
Alvarez started and reached base during all six games of this road trip. He finished 8-for-26 and scored four runs. When A’s outfielder Ka’ai Tom pitched the ninth inning of Sunday’s 9-2 win, Alvarez bounced out to shortstop Elvis Andrus but showed obvious intent getting down the first-base line. Statcast measured his sprint speed during this road trip at 25.8 feet per second. The league average is 27.
“He’s moving around good. He’s healthy,” Baker said. “He’s going to get better and better. The more pitches he sees, the more games he plays in, I’m sure Yordan will be back to the form he was a few years ago.”
Baker’s reluctance to unleash Alvarez is somewhat understandable.
Baker battled knee issues as a player. Upon arriving in Houston, trainers and front-office personnel told him tales of how fragile Alvarez’s knees had been. In 2019, former manager A.J. Hinch often made sure to start Alvarez in left field during games that preceded a team off day. Running the bases appeared a chore. Baker could not risk losing Alvarez’s bat for any length of time by playing him on defense.
That Alvarez played six straight days during the road trip — even if he was just the designated hitter — had to allay some of Baker’s concerns. Third baseman Alex Bregman, who followed a slow spring training buildup similar to Alvarez, didn’t play in the team’s third game against the A’s as part of a prescribed plan to protect his hamstring. Bregman’s demands during a game obviously far exceed Alvarez’s.
Whether Alvarez could increase his duties is now a legitimate question. By the fourth game against the A’s, Baker moved Alvarez to the cleanup spot, where he’s primed to stay for the season. The next day, during batting practice prior to a game against the Angels, Alvarez took ground balls at first base. He continues to work with the outfielders, too.
Alvarez is, at best, an average defender. The Astros tried to play him at first base during his minor league career, but he saw only sporadic time before his focus shifted to left field. Hinch tried to use Alvarez in ballparks with small outfields and short porches in left to make the job easier. Minute Maid Park is perfect for him.
If Alvarez can play any defensive innings, the Astros’ roster flexibility increases immensely. Baker can give Gurriel or Michael Brantley a start at designated hitter without taking Alvarez’s bat from the lineup. Gurriel can move over to third, and Alvarez can play first if Bregman needs a day to DH.
In the short term, left field is more feasible than first base for Alvarez. Bench coach Joe Espada said the team wanted to work with him at first base during spring training. Toward the end of camp, though, Alvarez acknowledged most of his defensive work came in left field. He rekindled the infield dream Monday, though, in hopes of again proving to his boss that all is well.
“He did that on his own,” Baker said. “I think he did that for his sake and for effect. (He thought) hopefully, maybe, I was looking.
“That’s good that he has that enthusiasm. Just in case something happens, it won’t be foreign to him.”