Astros' Jose Altuve & Cam Smith break 42-year streak with Opening Day outfield debuts

Modified Mar 27, 2025 10:58 GMT

The Houston Astros are set to debut Jose Altuve (left) and Cam Smith (right) in the outfield this year (Getty)

The Houston Astros are set to make history by being just the fourth team in MLB to debut multiple outfielders in the same slate on opening day. The two-time World Series champions have decided to place franchise legend Jose Altuve in left field while simultaneously assigning rookie Cam Smith to center field.

They will be the first team since 1982 to hand outfield debuts to teammates and just the fourth overall in the league's long history. The last time that such an occurrence happened, Larry Parrish and George Wright made their outfield debuts for the Texas Rangers.

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Altuve, who has appeared in 1,765 games as a second baseman, will be replaced by Mauricio Dubon. His move to left is seen as a step to relieve pressure from slugger Yordan Alvarez so the latter's full potential as a hitter will be fully maximized.

As for Smith, the young gun will now shift to center from his usual hot corner role. The upstart is the number one prospect in the Astros' system and was a vital piece that the team got in a trade for Kyle Tucker with the Chicago Cubs.

Harold Reynolds has mixed reactions to Astros' Jose Altuve and Cam Smith experiment

Three-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman-turned MLB analyst Harold Reynolds had mixed reactions about the Astros' outfield experiment. The pundit cast doubts about team leader Jose Altuve's move to left field while expressing his support for rookie Cam Smith's debut in the outfield.

Speaking on Wednesday's episode of MLB Tonight, Reynolds stated that the transition would be difficult for Altuve as he moves to the other side of the field.

"The Altuve one is interesting. When it comes to Cam Smith, he can play all over the place. I'm not worried about him at all," Reynolds stated. (0:38-0:43)

"The thing with Altuve is just that it's different, he's not on the same side of the field. When you play second base, the ball cuts away." (0:50-1:05)

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The Houston Astros are shaking things up in the outfield as they aim to offset the surplus of infielders with their shortage of reliable outfielders.

The team is scheduled to open their 2025 season against the re-tooled New York Mets. Framber Valdez has been assigned to start the Opening Day game opposite the newly-acquired Clay Holmes for the Mets. The game starts at 4:10 p.m. EDT.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Prathik BR