The Houston Astros locked up one of their most important offensive pieces and one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball on a six-year contract extension.
Alvarez signed as an amateur free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in June 2016 before being traded to the Astros in August of that year in exchange for former first-round pick Josh Fields. A former relief pitcher whose MLB career began in 2013, Fields hasn’t made a big league appearance since 2018 and was designated for assignment by the Dodgers in March 2019.
In June 2019 Alvarez got called up to the majors, and despite playing just 87 games and earning 313 at-bats that season, the outfielder/designated hitter tore the cover off the ball on his way to AL Rookie of the Year honors. Alvarez ended his rookie campaign with 27 home runs, 78 RBI and a .313/.412/655 slash line.
The 24-year-old missed the beginning of the 2020 pandemic-shortened season after testing positive for COVID-19 and only ended up playing two games before undergoing knee surgery. In the middle of one of the most potent lineups in 2021, Alvarez was arguably Houston’s best hitter, leading the club in home runs (33) and RBI (104), while ranking second in slugging percentage (.531), OPS (.877) and doubles (35) as well.
Alvarez helped the Astros advance to another World Series last season, where they fell to the Atlanta Braves, by earning ALCS MVP honors. The native Cuban is off to a fast start in 2022, currently slashing .272/.367/.574 with 14 home runs and 31 RBI.
