Unlike the other positions, second base probably has more options and more intrigue coming into the 2026 season. We will profile three players, but depending on what happens elsewhere on the roster it could be none of these guys manning second base a majority of the time. The lion share of our focus has been on the offensive end when looking at catcher and first base. That has happened for two primary reasons. First, offense was the clear weakness of the team last season. Secondly, I am always more interested in offense than fielding.
All that being said, we cannot ignore fielding and that is especially true at a position where we have a number of options. Overall value is always a trade off of runs created on offense versus runs saved on defense. A two win defender (as some of these guys might be) are rare and those defensive wins can mask offensive issues. You want the best players on the field, but you also want a balance on the diamond and in the batter’s box. So, let’s start with the king of second base for the last decade plus.
I should point out that Altuve is a unique player in the history of the game. I am a big believer in data and even I have to admit the offensive data is sometimes meaningless when it comes to Altuve. He doesn’t hit the ball hard and swings at a lot of pitches. Traditionally it has worked for him, but that is not necessarily the case moving forward. Let’s take a look at the key offensive numbers.
SO%: 16.7BB%: 8.4BABIP: .283Hard%: 30.9Swing%: 49.1Chase%: 38.1
Altuve is upside down on most of these numbers. Yet, the strikeout rate is below the league average and the walk rate is right around league average. So, from a distance he still looks productive. The BABIP was also considerably lower than his career .326 rate, so if you squint hard enough to overlook everything else you might be inclined to predict improvement. Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. His hard contact is lower than most of the team and the chase rate is higher than almost everyone. Geez, it’s almost as if they are kind of related.
Innings: 499.1DRS: -8OAA: 0FRV: -1
Altuve will be in the regular lineup somewhere. The question is where. The left field results are somehow worse on a per inning basis. However, considering that fewer balls go out that way I can see a world where your overall defense looks better with him out there. He can also DH, but that would mean Yordan would be your left fielder. In a perfect world, he is probably your DH until he retires. That perfect world doesn’t exist unless there is some serious shuffling.
Dubon is a combined +14 according to DRS. That jumps to +20 OAA and +17 for FRV when you combine all of his defensive positions. The dude should win another utility Gold Glove easily. He has a spot on the squad until he reaches free agency. The question is whether the defense outweighs the offense. So, when we look at fielding for him and Ramon Urias we will only look at second base data.
SO%: 10.6BB%: 6.0BABIP: .255HARD%: 26.3Swing%: 53.6Chase%: 34.1
Believe it or not, that chase rate actually rates as an improvement for Dubon. Of course, that is still considerably worse than the league average. I have made no bones about the fact that I hate his hitting profile. He swings at far too many pitches and makes a ton of soft contact. The BABIP was lower than normal, but with the worst hard hit rate on the team I am not sure what we should expect. The Dubon question comes down to how much the hitting coaches can mute some of these tendencies. If you have a free swinging Jeremy Pena, Jose Altuve, and Yainer Diaz then you have half a lineup of free swingers when Dubon is in there.
Innings: 318.0DRS: +5OAA: +8FRV: +7
As stock brokers tell you, past results are not necessarily a predictor of future performance, but a full time second baseman would play in the neighborhood of 1200 innings. Can you imagine +20, +32, or +28. That would make him a three win defender. That’s Platinum Glove territory. So, as much as I might dislike Dubon as a hitter, I cannot ignore the possibility that he is just too valuable to leave on the bench. I could see a world with Paredes at first, Dubon at second, and Altuve with a bat in his hand. That would mean Alvarez in left, but there have been worse left fielders.
Urias might be redundant, but I’ll be damned if I don’t love two guys that can play almost anywhere on the diamond. Like Dubon, he was a combined +12, +5. and +4 at multiple positions. Again, we will only be looking at second base here. However, it should be noted that he might be a better defensive third baseman, but that position is well manned for the next few seasons.
SO%: 22.5BB%: 6.9BABIP: .281Hard%: 41.6Swing%: 49.0Chase%: 28.6
Urias is the inverse of Altuve as a hitting profile. He should be better than what he is. He doesn’t chase a ton of pitches and seems to make harder contact. Yet, his BABIP was still below career norms. I’d say he is the better bounce back candidate of the group offensively. His chase rate is below league average and hard hit rate is among the highest on the team. I’d expect better numbers than this next year.
Innings: 185.0DRS: +7OAA: +4FRV: +3
If you projected this out over 1200 innings you would end up with similar numbers as Dubon. Like I said, it might seem redundant, so it would not shock me if he were moved in the offseason. I’d love to have him around and he might actually be my choice to start if you wanted to avoid Altuve at second. His hitting profile looks more like what you want up and down the lineup.
Let’s assume a world where Christian Walker gets moved. When you move Isaac Paredes to first base you then have a potential opening at second base. While it does not make me feel great about life in general, my preference would be to DH Altuve and play Yordan everyday in left field. His hands have been his biggest problem and I don’t see fielding negatively impacting him that much in that regard. The upshot is that a Urias/Dubon platoon would likely produce upwards of 20 runs defensively. A run saved is as valuable as a run created.