Astros Should Sign José Altuve to New Contract in 2023 Free Agency Amid MLB Rumors

The Houston Astros are closing in on another World Series appearance and if they do make it back to the Fall Classic to defend their title, it will be at least in part due to Jose Altuve's late-inning heroics in Game 5.

The longtime Astro blasted a ninth-inning, three-run home run to put Houston on top of the Texas Rangers.

It was a moonshot the likes of which Altuve has become synonymous with in the postseason and one reason the Astros absolutely must ink him to a contract extension.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported, "The Houston Astros plan to do everything possible to lock up All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve to a contract extension to keep him in the organization for the duration of his career."

He continued, "Altuve and third baseman Alex Bregman each are eligible for free agency after the 2024 season, but the Astros privately say their focus is squarely on Altuve. Altuve, who has been with the organization since 2007, will be paid $26 million in the final year of his seven-year, $163.5 million extension."

Big-time players rise up in big-time situations and no competitor on the Astros roster has been more clutch when it mattered most than Altuve. Since joining the organization some 16 years ago, he has established himself as one of the greatest postseason performers of his generation.

His 11 home runs in ALCS competition are the most ever, while he is the only player to ever hit three go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning of postseason games, per MLB's Sarah Langs.

Since the start of the last seven-year contract alone, Altuve has hit 125 home runs and driven in 344 runs. He has helped fuel the offense, motivated the entire team and in some cases, has single-handedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

He has earned every dollar the Astros have paid him and more importantly, the right to finish his career with the team that took a chance on the undersized star nearly two decades ago.

There will always be detractors and critics, those who link him to the Astros cheating scandal of 2017 despite a lack of evidence of his direct involvement and the insistence by team officials and fellow players that he was not.

It is nearly impossible to change those minds.

All he can do is to continue showing up when the pressure is greatest and the stage grandest and hit the ball in a way that gives his team a chance every single night to win a game.

He has continuously done that and the Astros must reward him accordingly. Not in 2024 but now, while he is in the midst of a playoff run that is etching his name in the history books with seemingly every at-bat.