WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The caveat comes at first mention of his name. Yordan Alvarez’s potential seems endless, but only if one crucial criterium can be met. The Astros want to expose their 23-year-old slugger to first base this spring. They hope his power can compensate for George Springer’s loss in their lineup. Playing him even a little bit in left field this season will allow manager Dusty Baker more lineup flexibility.
Alvarez can fulfill all these desires if he stays healthy. But what sounds so simple has morphed into something complex: more than a year of ambiguous public updates and false promises from both the Astros and Alvarez that his knees were sturdy. The facade fell last August, when Alvarez could no longer tolerate the discomfort and underwent surgery. Even then a new wrinkle emerged: Alvarez required surgery on both knees.
“I feel a lot better,” Alvarez said Saturday through an interpreter. “To be honest, it’s motivating. I feel motivated because I feel so much better compared to 2019. It’s way different.”
Alvarez has rarely appeared in public view through the first week of full-squad workouts. On Friday, he participated in some stretching and light jogging and played catch in the outfield. He has not taken outdoor batting practice. Baker and Alvarez’s teammates say he is doing most of his work indoors, including hitting in the batting cages, as part of his gradual buildup from surgery.
“I think I feel a lot better than what people must assume,” Alvarez said. “I feel really good.”
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Alvarez played with persistent knee pain while unanimously winning American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2019. He said Saturday that after fulfilling his goal of reaching the major leagues, he “didn’t want to lose that position that I had.” So Alvarez kept playing. He slugged .655 and set a franchise rookie record with 27 home runs.
Pain lingered into spring training. Before baseball was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Alvarez was scratched from a Grapefruit League lineup with knee soreness. Before the sport resumed, Alvarez tested positive for the virus. He was in shape and ready to report to summer camp at Minute Maid Park. The positive test forced him to stay quarantined. Much of his readiness went away. In hindsight, Alvarez believes it triggered more pain.
“I think when I was finally ready to get back and start training again, I tried to rush things a little bit too much. Maybe that was part of the reason why I had some difficulties with my knees,” Alvarez said. “Just not being ready to train and trying to get after it as quick as I could to get back with the team.”
Still, Alvarez hit an opposite-field home run in his first plate appearance of 2020. He had only eight more PAs before arriving at the decision to undergo surgery. The decision, according to Alvarez, “was a good thing for my career long-term to get it taken care of early and to get it out of the way.”
Since arriving in Florida this year, Alvarez’s teammates have raved about his work. Shortstop Carlos Correa said he looks “sexy.”
“He’s doing great,” Aledmys Diaz said. “He knows we need him big-time this year. He’s doing everything he can to be in shape and be ready to help us. He’s a big part of the lineup, a big part of the clubhouse, and we expect him to produce big time this year.”
For the Astros to advance anywhere near where they desire, Alvarez must fulfill Diaz’s expectations. Springer’s departure leaves an obvious power gap. Alvarez can compensate for it — and more — with a return to form. FanGraphs’ ZiPS projection model predicts Alvarez will slug .560, hit 28 home runs and lead the team with a .925 OPS.
“I don’t feel any kind of pressure being back on the field this year,” Alvarez said. “If anything, I just feel more motivation having missed a year, but it’s never passed through my head that I’ll feel more pressure this season.”
Whether Alvarez can play any defense remains in doubt. Baker acknowledged this week the club planned to play him “very little” in the outfield. Ensuring Alvarez’s bat is in the lineup is far more important than risking injury in left field.
For a team that values versatility and flexibility, it would be ideal for Alvarez to contribute at least something as a defender. Michael Brantley is 33 and had a lengthy injury history in Cleveland. Giving him days as a designated hitter — even if Brantley despises it — might conserve his legs in a long season.
When he does return to full activity, Alvarez will work in left field and, in a bit of a surprise, at first base. The Astros attempted to use him at first base throughout his minor league career, but the experiment never took hold. Whether Alvarez’s balky knees were to blame is a legitimate question.
“If he’s able to move around like he did two years ago, I think he’ll be capable of playing first base,” bench coach Joe Espada said. “It’s just a matter of if his legs and knees feel good enough to stop and push and take those tough angles that are required to play first base. If he’s healthy, we’re going to give it a shot and see how it looks. But if he shows the movements and the range he showed in 2018 when I first got here, I think he could be capable of doing it.”
Alvarez said Saturday he has no preference of infield or outfield. He will take repetitions at both positions and figure out where he’s the most comfortable. He set no expectations for his defensive performance or first full season as a major leaguer. His goals are far more basic.
“For me,” Alvarez said, “I think number one this year is just being healthy and being able to go through this year focusing on maintaining my health.”
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