Major roadblock to make Jose Altuve sit out games highlighted by Astros insider 

Jose Altuve isn't playing well and the Houston Astros are not sitting him down enough, is what MLB analyst Adam Spolane believes might be the reason for his surprising stats. However, analyst Chandler Rome believes it's tough to sit him out for the Astros.

After 178 plate appearances, the second baseman is only hitting .236 along with four home runs, three stolen bases and 14 RBIs. What's even more pressing is his away stats this year. In the last five games, which have been on the road against the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, Altuve has managed only one hit in 18 plate appearances.

So it's only natural to question why the Astros have been reluctant to bench him in some games and allow the 35-year-old to work on his game. To answer that Rome said via the "Crush City Territory" podcast:

"I think Joe’s hands are tied at this point. Who do you want hitting second? They don’t have a ton of options. Jake Myers has been a nice story over the first couple of months, but I don’t think you want him hitting second. I don’t think you want many guys from the bottom half of this lineup hitting in the top half. He's José Altuve. At some point, they have to have faith he’s going to turn it around."

(from 42:37 mark onwards)

However, according to Rome, one of the major roadblocks would be for second-year manager Joe Espada getting the courage to take away at-bats from a sure-shot Hall of Famer, who is chasing the milestone of 3,000 hits.

"It’s another thing for a second-year manager — Joe Espada — to go to a surefire Hall of Famer and a franchise icon," Rome said.

"They’ve already asked him to change positions, and he’s handled that gracefully. He said, ‘Yes, I’ll do it.’ He’s as selfless a player of his stature as you’ll find. But it’s a whole different story when you start taking at-bats away from a guy who wants to get 3,000 hits," he added.

Adam Spolane thinks Astros are playing Jose Altuve too much

During the same "Crush City Territory" segment, Adam Spolane argued the Astros should think about Jose Altuve's age and shouldn't be allowed to be on the field as much as they have.

Altuve so far has played in 45 out of 47 games. Last season, they made him play 153 games. It's just too much, according to Spolane, who thinks the Astros need to cool off on his playing time.

"Maybe give him a little bit more time off," Spolane said. "I know he's DH’d a couple times recently, including today, but there’s probably no reason for him to be playing as much as he is — especially considering they’re not in a 12-game hole like they were last year."

(from 41:37 mark onwards)

Altuve has 2,274 hits and is on pace to get to 3,000 hits. But there's a chance he may not hit at the same level and that could cost the Astros in the long run.