WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros’ single-season home run record of 47 was set by Hall of Fame first baseman Jeff Bagwell 26 years ago -- the first year Houston moved into its downtown ballpark. Lance Berkman made a run at Bagwell’s record six years later, but he finished two shy.
Only one Astros player has hit 40 homers in a season since (Alex Bregman with 41 in 2019), which is surprising considering slugger Yordan Alvarez is eighth on the team’s all-time list with 170 and is one of the game’s premier sluggers. Alvarez’s career high in homers is 37 in 2022, but Bagwell believes it’s about time his record is broken.
“I’d be so happy for him to do it,” Bagwell said. “The more he plays, the more he’s going to do special things, but I’ll be his biggest fan the whole way.”
Keeping Alvarez on the field could be the key to the slugger making a run at Bagwell’s record, and perhaps to the Astros’ playoff chances. Houston, at 87-75, finished one game shy of reaching the postseason for the ninth year in a row in 2025 despite Alvarez playing in only 48 games. Alvarez slashed .273/.367/.430 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 199 plate appearances.
Alvarez missed 100 games while recovering from a broken bone in his right hand, but he slashed .369/.462/.569 with three homers and nine RBIs in 19 games after returning to the lineup Aug. 26. He had back-to-back four-hit games against the Yankees on Sept. 3-4.
With the Astros pushing for a playoff spot, Alvarez suffered a left ankle sprain when he slipped on home plate Sept. 15 against the Rangers. There was some hope he could come back at the end of the regular season, but the injury proved to be too serious.
“The first couple of months were kind of difficult because there was a little bit of inflammation in my ankle, but right now I feel great, feel good,” Alvarez said. “No pain right now.”
And the Astros hope to keep it that way.
Alvarez, who played in a career-high 147 games in 2024, will get the majority of his at-bats at designated hitter in ‘25. Alvarez started 32 games at DH last year and 15 in left field, and he reminded reporters last week that he has never been injured while playing left. Still, the Astros hope to minimize his exposure on defense, where a collision with a wall or a teammate could be catastrophic.
“He’s the rock of our lineup,” said Bagwell, who’s a senior baseball advisor. “Everything kind of revolves around Yordan, and you can ask any manager in the opposing dugout and they’ll say the same things.”
Last year, the Astros began the season with Jose Altuve in left field, though he wound up getting more at-bats at second base. He’ll return to second full-time this year, and there will be competition for playing time in left among Zach Cole, Joey Loperfido, Zach Dezenzo and Taylor Trammell. Alvarez will still get some playing time in left, too.
“We’re not going to put him in a bubble where we’re all afraid of Yordan getting hurt,” manager Joe Espada said. “He’s a great athlete. Yordan is going to play the game hard. We’re going to play the game hard. This whole injury prevention stuff … guys, I get it about ‘25, but that’s behind us. We’re going to be aggressive, we’re going to take risks and we’re going to be the team that we know we’re capable of being.”
Entering this season, Alvarez ranks 28th on MLB Network’s The Top 100 Players Right Now, down from his preseason ranking of seventh last year. There’s little doubt that when he’s healthy, he remains one of the game’s most feared hitters.
“Other managers watch him in the on-deck circle,” Espada said. “He’s a threat and he’s not even in the batter’s box. That’s how good he is. The impact he has in our lineup, just having Yordan in there and the fact he’s going to have four or five opportunities that day to hit is game-changing. He’s that good, he’s that big of a threat.
“He makes everyone else that much better. The confidence he brings when he is in there every day, it just makes us that much better psychologically and physically. So keeping him on the field and getting the Yordan that we all know he’s capable of being, it’s imperative for our success.”