With Carlos Correa getting closer to returning to the Astros, questions have arisen about how the team would formulate their lineup when he was ready to rejoin the team. While Correa has exclusively taken ground balls at 3B during his rehab and manager Joe Espada has stated that Correa would play 3B upon his return, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had a report today that offered another idea:
The concept of Correa at 2B
instantly leads to thoughts of “if he has a serious ankle injury he is returning from, wouldn’t playing 2B make him more vulnerable to another injury” immediately after the thought of “but Correa has never played 2B before”. While the first listed thought would seem to be true, the second one is definitely true.
Carlos Correa has never played 2B. He’s never played on the right side of the infield.
On recent editions of AREA45 on 95.7 The Fan, I have hypothesized of Carlos Correa potentially playing 1B after this season, with the Astros moving on from Christian Walker. While Correa would make a great target at 1B standing 6’3”, Correa is notably superior defender at 3B than Isaac Paredes, who does have experience playing 1B. Paredes stands 5’11”, the same height as Walker.
The idea of Correa playing 2B would require Yordan Alvarez to be the everyday LF and Jose Altuve to become the team’s regular DH.
While it may not be tenable for a full season, it could certainly be a working plan for the final week of the season and the playoffs.
Jose Altuve is having a career-worst season both offensively and defensively. Altuve is a -11 OAA (Outs Above Average). For comparison, last season Altuve was a 0 OAA, making him league average. -11 OAA grades Altuve as the worst defensive 2B in MLB. It is a sharp fall defensively for the Astros aging icon.
Correa’s athleticism should allow him to play the position well, but an occasional misplay by being out of position should be expected for playing someplace he has never played before.
