Jose Altuve, who urged Houston owner Jim Crane to keep Alex Bregman, is making same pitch to give Jeremy Peña a contract extension now.

Among the most respected veteran voices in the Houston Astros clubhouse, Jose Altuve continues to carry major influence — and this time, he used his platform to send a clear message to team leadership about Jeremy Peña.

Houston is a solid-but-unspectacular 14-13 on the season and 1.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners in the early American League West standings. Having Altuve return to his normal form is the best way to close that gap, and he showed what he was capable of from a new spot in the lineup Monday.