Yordan

Alvarez

The 28-year-old slugger opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single off of Mets’ right-hander Freddy Peralta. He then obliterated a Saul Garcia slider for a three-run blast in the sixth that extended that lead to 4-0. The 28-year-old slugger is now hitting .316 (6-for-19) on the spring while Saturday’s home run and RBIs were his first in Grapefruit League play. As long as he can avoid the injured list, he’s going to deliver substantial profit to those that call his name in fantasy drafts.

The 28-year-old slugger smacked a two-out double off of Jake Irvin in the opening inning and then scored the game’s first run on an RBI double off the bat of Yainer Diaz. He then added a pair of singles before calling it a day. Through six games on the spring, Alvarez is hitting .250 (4-for-16) but has yet to drive in a run.

It was the first action of the spring for Alvarez. It’d be better if it went well than it going like this, but the results aren’t important. Alvarez dealt with injuries for the overwhelming majority of 2025, but when healthy, there are very few sluggers better in the sport.

The 28-year-old slugger has been brought along cautiously this spring but is fully healthy and ready for live game action. While he’s expected to see the bulk of his action as the designated hitter in 2026, Espada noted over the weekend that Alvarez will also see some starts in left field. If he can avoid the injured list, Alvarez will wind up delivering a substantial profit for fantasy managers from his current average draft position.

After an injury-plagued 2025 season, Alvarez is slated to start the majority of games at designated hitter, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see him in the outfield. “Yordan likes to play left field, and that balance is important to keep,” Espada said on MLB Network. “He likes to go out to left field and put some at-bats behind him and go focus on something else defensively, and we’re going to do that. And also, by doing that, it allows us to DH some other veteran players that we will need to get off their feet.” How many games Alvarez plays in the outfield is anybody’s guess, but his having outfield eligibility in fantasy leagues would be big, as would getting extra at-bats for Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker at DH.

He’ll likely be managed with a lot of DH time this season, but it’s a good sign to see Alvarez ready to go before we get too deep into spring training. Our last update on him was that he was completely pain free, so fantasy managers shouldn’t have any reservations about drafting him early based on what we currently know. He’s still coming at a slight discount after last year’s 48-game injury-plagued debacle of a season.

The 28-year-old slugger suffered an ankle injury in the middle of September that ultimately ended his season. Alvarez also missed significant time during the season due to a broken hand. As long as he’s able to avoid the injured list, he should once again put up massive offensive numbers for fantasy purposes. Astros’ skipper Joe Espada has already noted that the plan is for Alvarez to spend most of his time at DH in an effort to keep him healthy for the duration of the 2026 campaign.

Espada’s comments came shortly after Astros general manager Dana Brown reaffirmed that Alvarez will be ready for Opening Day as he continues to recover from a significant high ankle sprain that he suffered in late September. Houston’s skipper added that the decision to limit Alvarez from playing the field is strictly for health purposes. The Astros would like to keep the 28-year-old middle-of-the-order force in their lineup as often as possible after a hand fracture limited him to just 48 games this past season. It’s a positive development for fantasy purposes as eliminating the wear and tear of playing left field should help prevent knee issues that have bothered him in recent years.

Alvarez is expected to be ready to go for the start of spring training after suffering an ankle injury in the middle of September that cost him the rest of the season. The 28-year-old also missed significant time with a broken hand, but when healthy, there aren’t many better offensive players in the sport.

If the Astros miraculously find a way to make the playoffs, it’s possible that we could see the 28-year-old slugger at some point in October, but that looks like an extreme longshot at this point. Alvarez has been shelved since September 16 due to a severe ankle sprain.