Houston Astros Brice Matthews (0) loses his helmet hitting a double during the second inning of a MLB baseball game at Daikin Park, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Houston Astros center fielder Brice Matthews (28) fields Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout’s single during the first inning of a MLB baseball game at Daikin Park, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Brice Matthews’ major-league outfield debut Friday followed an acclimation this spring that one of the Houston Astros coaches who aided it called a “position addition, and not conversion” for the 2023 first-round pick.
“We really want to emphasize the value of him playing multiple positions at a high level,” Astros outfield coach Jason Bell said. “We’ve seen those guys across the league that add a ton of value to not only their own careers but to the team. And we feel that Brice has the athleticism and the ability and awareness to execute that at a really high level.”
Doing so is Matthews’ clearest path to a role on Houston’s current roster. Matthews has mostly played infield in his professional career, but the Astros’ infield surplus leaves no place for him and spurred the plan to work him in the outfield this spring.
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Their starting lineup for game two of the season Friday indicated how Matthews adapted to the outfield during camp. Matthews started in center field against the Los Angeles Angels, roaming a position he has played in just nine games in the minors.
The experiment invites some question about Matthews’ defensive future. He started Friday adjacent to Cam Smith, who authored a move from third base to right field last spring and claimed an everyday job with Houston, offering a possible parallel.
Matthews also worked this spring in left field, where the Astros have no full-time starter. Jose Altuve is back at second base, where Matthews played primarily last season in the minors and during a short 13-game debut with Houston.
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For now, though, Matthews’ situation sounds different from Smith’s. Instead of a full-time move to the outfield, team officials describe a utility role in which Matthews could contribute now — and potentially carve out more playing time going forward.
“A lot of young guys break in this way, particularly when they can play multiple positions,” said general manager Dana Brown on opening day. “We have some at-bats for him, he’s going to get an opportunity to perform. And if he performs, good things are going to happen.”
Matthews will continue to take grounders at second base and on the left side of the infield in pre-game work, manager Joe Espada said Friday. He played second base, center field and left in games this spring, expanding the options for Espada to use him.
“I want to be able to, if he’s the last man standing, put him anywhere on the field and have us feel comfortable about that,” Espada said. “And he’s athletic enough and smart enough to do it.”
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That the Astros carried Matthews on the opening day roster underscored that belief. Matthews showed his range at second base in his debut stint. He played some outfield at Atascocita High School, but none in the minors until his small sample last September at Triple-A Sugar Land.
“To become a good outfielder, you really have to perceive the ball well and combine that with reaction and then use your speed to take over for the rest of the route,” Bell said. “We spent a lot of time doing reads in early work and also in BP (this spring) and we use a ton of video where I can show him feedback on a lot of those things. … It’s just about closing the gap a little bit and he’s taken to that really well.”
Before Friday’s game, Matthews practiced reads in center field with Bell standing behind him observing. Center field offers a “truer” read off the bat, but Bell said he believes Matthews can also handle trickier reads in left field caused by awkward spin or angles off the bat.
Left field at Daikin Park poses additional challenges, with the dimensions caused by the jutting Crawford Boxes and caroms off the out-of-town scoreboard. Matthews was introduced to that left field during the Astros’ exhibitions against Triple-A Sugar Land this week.
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“You see it a lot on TV, but it’s different getting out there and seeing how the ball hits the wall,” Matthews said Thursday. “Just getting used to it, getting ready for it.”
Left field seems the likeliest place for Matthews to see playing time initially. Houston returns Jake Meyers in center field and Smith in right and plans to limit Yordan Alvarez’s games in left. Opening day left fielder Joey Loperfido hits left-handed, possibly offering Matthews platoon at-bats.
Espada said Thursday “it would be nice if somebody would step up” and command everyday playing time in left field but “we’re not quite there yet. So we’ll give these guys opportunities. We’re going to play those guys out there and someone will take over and they’ll start getting more opportunities to play.”
Alvarez did play left field Friday, which opened the DH spot for Isaac Paredes with shortstop Jeremy Peña returning to the lineup and reinstating the Astros’ infield logjam. Matthews drew the start in center, with Espada indicating he did not want to sit Matthews multiple games to open the season.
“He had a really good spring training swinging the bat, so I want to keep that momentum, I want to keep him active and continue to develop his bat,” Espada said.
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Cutting down on swing-and-miss is key for Matthews, who had a 50.6% whiff rate in the majors last year. Matthews showed progress there this spring, posting an .817 OPS in Grapefruit League games. He was 1-for-3 in his season debut Friday, starting against lefty Yusei Kikuchi, with a double and two strikeouts.
Defensively, Matthews faced a couple of early chances. Mike Trout’s flare to shallow center fell for a first-inning single. In the second, Matthews managed a knuckling line drive by Oswald Peraza. The Astros are set to face three more lefty starters on this homestand, perhaps presenting Matthews an opportunity.
“For his first game (in the outfield), I thought he handled it well,” Espada said.