This season could a career year for Yordan Álvarez . The native Las Tunas, Cuba seems to indicate that he will play very little defense with the Houston Astros in the 2025 season and concentrate more on hitting. The “Ebony Tree’ will seek to be a main part of a Houston Astros lineup that will once again be in contention for the postseason.
Álvarez hit .308 last year, the second best mark of his career and 10 percentage points higher than what he had been projected. Last year he swatted a career high 170 hits. To many journalists, Álvarez is considered one of the five best hitters in the majors. Last season he was named an All-MLB leftfielder.
To open up the spring the Cuban slugger spoke to the media about what his perspective role will be and what expectations he has for the upcoming season. Álvarez figures to be a key piece to a new-look lineup for the Astros in 2025.
How did you take the fact that you’re going to be primarily a DH?
He is the manager. Obviously, they talked to me and I didn’t object to anything. I just told him that I am available when they need me in the outfield.
Are you 100% healthy this spring?
Yes, nothing serious happened with the knee, beyond what we thought it was. I prepared well the entire offseason and thank God I’m a hundred percent here.
Did you say you could continue playing left field?
No, honestly we have not gone into depth about what we are going to do. Obviously it is a very long season and sometimes things can change. But so far the plan is that, to reduce the time in left field. We haven’t really had specific conversations about how long I’m going to be playing in the outfield.
Do you have a preference for a slot in the batting order? What did the manager tell you?
No, he didn’t talk to me much. I remember last year, I just told him that I would like to be in one position and stick to it, no matter what it was. We haven’t talked much about that, but I prefer to hit second in the batting order.
Have you noticed how the team is changing?
Yes, I have noticed that the lineup has been moving, but we have a very talented team and we found a way to make that lineup work. We obviously have a very deep line and a lot of talent on our team.
What was your reaction to Bregman leaving for Boston?
It’s hard. Obviously we knew he was a free agent and we knew other teams had a chance to sign him. It’s still difficult for all of us with Alex leaving and with Tucker doing the same. Personally it affects the chemistry, they are two guys who have been with us for a long time.
How do the changes impact the roster?
I think we are in a good position. We have a team full of a lot of talent. I think we have the team to compete and that is not a secret to anyone. But we also know that every year players hit free agency and if they don’t manage to sign them, you always have to modify the lineup.
Can you take this offense to another level?
I think it may happen this year. A few days ago I was joking with Cintron about that. I think I’m close to having a really crazy year offensively.
What makes you think that?
If I look at the numbers, obviously I think that the numbers I am putting are not bad. But I know myself as a baseball player and the people who know me know that I can put up much better numbers. Obviously sometimes injuries, sometimes other things have hampered me. I’ve been a little inconsistent during the season, but in the end I always put up good numbers . I need to be more consistent to put up next level numbers.