Jose Altuve May Have Performed Worse Than Most Realized For the Astros in 2026

The Houston Astros saw their season come to an end a lot earlier than they would have liked, as they were swept by the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in the AL Wild Card round. It was a tough loss for the Astros, and it ended what was a very up-and-down 2026 campaign for the entire team across the board.

On that note, it appears one player in particular may have performed worse than most realized during the 2026 season. 

Recently, Bleacher Report MLB writer Tim Kelly put together a piece that talked about seven MLB players who performed worse than many people realized, and unfortunately, Altuve was on that list.

In the piece, Kelly mentioned that Altuve had a batting average this season of .250 which is way below his career batting average of .300. Additionally, Altuve finished with an OPS+ of below 100 (league average) for the first time since 2020, as he posted a 97.

On the defensive side, Altuve struggled as well with minus-17 defensive runs saved and minus-10 outs, which worked out to be about league average during the 2026 season.

Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that Altuve is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, but he does have three seasons left on his five-year $125 million deal, which could be very tough for the Astros, especially with Altuve going to be 37 years old early on next season.

Overall, Altuve really struggled whether it was on offense or on defense this season, and that may have been part of the reason why this team was unable to play consistently as a unit which ultimately led to the Astros finishing with an 81-81 record and barely winning the AL West over the Texas Rangers.

Moving forward, it is going to be very interesting to see how the Astros use Altuve, especially on the defensive side, because they need much better play from the outfield and the infield, especially if the pitching does continue to be a problem for Houston.

This year was a tough one for the Astros, and at times Altuve had his moments, such as hitting a home run in Game 2 against the White Sox, which Kelly noted was his 28th home run of his postseason career and put him in second place in MLB postseason history in terms of home runs, just trailing Manny Ramirez. However, overall, it was a struggle for Altuve to find consistency at the plate and at second base.

So, heading into 2027 it will be very intriguing to watch if Altuve can bounce back at the plate and if he can perform better on defense as well, because if he continues to struggle it will not be pretty for the Astros.