Always an Astro, once they become one. Arguably the greatest player in Astros history, Jose Altuve, agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract on Tuesday, almost ensuring that the second baseman would play for the organisation for the duration of his career.
After the 2024 season, Altuve was scheduled to become a free agent; however, he decided to contract with the Astros rather than test his freedom. Though nothing is certain until a new contract is in place, most within the organisation thought this would be the case. Tuesday allayed any worries fans might have had about Altuve staying in Houston.
In addition, Altuve is still among baseball’s finest second basemen. After fracturing his thumb during the World Baseball Classic, he missed almost half of the previous season. However, he bounced back, playing a key part in the Astros’ victory over the AL West and their sixth consecutive trip to the ALCS.
Even though this season is what the Rockets have called “phase two” of their rebuild, coach Ime Udoka would rather win now. Most coaches would. The only way to identify them is as wins and losses, and someone as competitive as Udoka puts the highest importance on those figures. But the team might have shifted its attention to the approaching February 8 trade deadline in spite of its desire to win now and its early-season progress.
Before the deadline, there was a lot of talk that the Rockets intended to take a risk, maybe dealing for a big-name player even if it meant losing some of their young players and draft picks. It makes logical to strive high when your defence is ranked in the top five in the NBA and you enter the season with a 13-9 record. The play-in tournament looked like a definite possibility at that point.
Combine that with Jalen Green’s problems, one of your important young core players, and you have the makings of an environment that would eventually lead to a significant trade and, perhaps, secure the team’s postseason chances.But since then, they’ve gone 13–17, and in the last two weeks, at least, Green has put up some amazing stats. Furthermore, the Rockets’ defensive efficiency had dropped from first in the league to the middle of the pack before recently rising to sixth. Even with their recent high-scoring games, they rank 21st offensively.
