Though still in a tentative stage, the Jose Altuve-in-left field experiment is underway. Two weeks remain until the Houston Astros hold their first full-squad workout of spring training. But in Houston,

Michael Shapiro is a sports reporter for Chron, covering the Astros, Rockets, Texans and every team in town. Michael is a Denver native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and a noted fan of pull-up threes, wide-receiver passes and a good hot fudge sundae.

At the team's Fanfest, Jose Altuve talked about his willingness to play the outfield if it will help the Astros re-sign Alex Bregman in free agency.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said he expects Altuve to take reps practicing as a left fielder next month during the team's Spring Training in West Palm Beach, Florida. Altuve has never logged a game in the outfield across his 14 MLB seasons, and he's logged just two starts at shortstop, his only non-second-base position to date.