Altuve not participating in World Baseball Classic (source)

HOUSTON -- All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve has opted not to participate in this year’s World Baseball Classic at the request of the Astros, a source said Monday. The club has not confirmed the news.

Altuve said at the team’s annual FanFest on Saturday he would like to play in this year’s WBC for his native Venezuela, which is managed by Houston bench coach Omar López, but the Astros would prefer for him to remain with the club during Spring Training and prepare for the season. López said at last month’s Winter Meetings he would start Altuve at second base and bat him third if he plays for Venezuela.

The Astros’ hesitancy for Altuve to play in the WBC stems from the injury he suffered while playing in 2023. He sustained a fractured right thumb after being hit by a pitch in a WBC game and underwent surgery, missing the first 43 games of the regular season for Houston.

Altuve returned in mid-May in ‘23 and slashed .311/.393/.522 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs in 90 games. He played in 153 games in ’24 and 155 games last year – the most combined games by an Astros player in the past two seasons.

Altuve was bothered by a sore right foot in the final two weeks of the 2025 regular season and underwent a procedure in November to remove fluid from a wound between his fourth and fifth toes. He hit .265 with 80 runs, 26 homers and 77 RBIs last season and said Saturday he’s 100 percent healthy.

The Astros moved Altuve to left field to begin the season but he wound up making more starts at his natural position of second base. Altuve started 61 games at second base, 49 at DH and 44 in left field last year, but he is expected to return to second base full-time -- or close to it -- in ‘26.

López said last month an injury like the one Altuve suffered in the WBC could have also happened in Spring Training, but the Astros don’t want to take any chances. Altuve, 36, has built a strong Hall of Fame resume since breaking into the big leagues in 2011, including three batting titles, the 2017 American League MVP, two World Series championships, seven Silver Slugger Awards and nine All-Star selections.

Altuve enters this season with 2,388 hits, which is the second-most in Astros history. He’s 112 hits shy of reaching 2,500 and remains on a path to join Hall of Famer Craig Biggio as a member of baseball’s prestigious 3,000-hit club. He’s under contract with the Astros for four more seasons.

Venezuela, which is in Pool D, will play the Astros in an exhibition game March 3 in West Palm Beach before opening WBC pool play March 6 against Netherlands, followed by games against Israel (March 7), Nicaragua (March 9) and the Dominican Republic (March 11).