First baseman José Abreu is not with the Astros right now and will be optioned tomorrow to West Palm Beach. As a veteran with over five years of major league service time, Abreu cannot be optioned without his consent but agreed to be sent down in an attempt to overcome his struggles. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to relay the news on X.
Abreu, now 37, signed a three-year deal with a $58.5MM guarantee with the Astros going into 2023. Houston was undoubtedly hoping for Abreu to continue performing like he did with the White Sox. He hit 243 home runs for that club from 2014 to 2022, slashing .292/.354/.506 in the process.
But things have not been going well since he joined the Astros. He was hitting .211/.276/.260 through May last year, before bouncing back with a solid showing of .277/.322/.466 in June and July. He was brutal again in August, hitting .188/.278/.271, before mounting a solid finish by slashing .237/.299/.536 in September and October. That up-and-down season finished with a line of .237/.296/.383, which translated to a wRC+ of 86, but he provided a bit more optimism by slashing .295/.354/.591 in the postseason.
Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse here in 2024, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at last week. Abreu has just seven hits so far this season, with his one double the only extra-base knock of the bunch. He currently has a line of .099/.156/.113 on the year. His -21 wRC+ is the worst in the majors among players with at least 70 plate appearances.
His .130 batting average on balls in play is surely due for some regression, but Abreu isn’t hitting the ball with much authority either. He has yet to barrel a ball this season, per Statcast’s definition, while his exit velocity and hard hit rate are way down relative to his previous work.
As mentioned, veteran players cannot be optioned without their consent but Abreu has agreed to go down to the minors. General manager Dana Brown told reporters that both sides decided Abreu should go down to the farm “to get some at-bats and his timing back right,” per Rome, linked up top. “He unselfishly was on board and agreement with going back to West Palm Beach,” Brown said.
Obviously, it would be great for everyone involved if this plan were successful in getting him back on track. The Astros are off to their worst start in years, currently 9-19 and in last place in the American League West. Abreu’s struggles have obviously been a part of that but he could also be part of the solution if he were able to turn things around.
For now, it’s not totally clear what the plan will be at first base. Joey Loperfido was just added to the roster today but he will be playing outfield for now, Brown said, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros have Jon Singleton available to play first base but he’s not having a great year either, currently slashing .238/.319/.286.
Trey Cabbage could perhaps be an option, as he’s on the 40-man roster. He was just up with the club as their 27th man for the Mexico City Series but was sent back down after. Position players normally have to wait ten days after being optioned to be recalled again, but a “27th man” situation doesn’t count as being optioned.
Cabbage generally provides pop and can take a walk, but also racks up his share of strikeouts. He’s been hitting .271/.440/.486 in Triple-A this year, walking 23.1% of the time but striking out at a 31.9% clip. He also provides some wheels, having stolen seven bags on the year so far.
The Astros won’t officially option Abreu until tomorrow, so they will play a man short tonight and the corresponding move will be clear at that time.
Good luck, Jose. You’re a good guy.
Take a big man to go down to the minors.
Alex Manoah should take notes
Bregman next!
Lol, he’ll get going… eventually
Here comes Joey!!!
Hopefully, they find his real birth certificate
IDK what is more surprising, Abreau getting optioned or him accepting it. Ya just don’t see vets doing that. Hope you get it together Jose.
I just said the same thing to my buddy. Veterans basically never consent.
They are too proud to accept. Jose either accept or goes back to picking fruit or vegetables
He probably feels guilty. Human emotion
Not guilt. He said in the ESPN article that he was genuinely embarrassed. He was brought in to do a job, and wasn’t getting it done. I wish him the best in his search to regain his swing and production at the plate.
At 37 I venture to guess he is washed up . A surprise that the
Sox saw that
Jose seems like a genuinely caring guy. I respect that he is willing to go down to try to fix himself so he can help the team that hired him. He was loyal to a fault on the Sox. His loyalty to his team doesn’t waver. Much respect.
at 37, the idea of going back to a ST site to work on your swing is so incredibly rare.
props to an amazing team player.
hope he turns it around.
10yrs service time in – check
Guaranteed contract for millions through 2025 – check
Two big things already in place, so why not? Does show what type of dude he is by doing that. Some mlb-ers might take the “do you KNOW who I am” stance.
Hopefully he gets his stuff right….
The “why not” part is that as of now, he could be stuck riding a bus in AAA for the next 2 years which is far different than what he is used to doing.
If he doesn’t get called back up, he can’t keep getting paid if he quits.
Now, to each his own so also yes, he has faith in himself to get back and he’s, he may not care about riding the bus so he can keep playing.
Most 37 year old vets would never accept which is why this reads like a shocker that he did.
Houston really talking him up for being gracious.
I wonder who / when the last similar situation guy was that accepted.
I can’t think of one – maybe a guy on expiring contract but not with nearly 40 mil and 2 years on the hook.
I would be surprised if they have not already set a time limit on his minor league stay. Still, it shows his determination to fulfill his end of the contract, and I applaud him.
Styme, I was actually wondering if a behind the scenes call back up agreement isn’t in play as well.
Maybe he just likes being a baseball player. Shocking!
It’s a nice gig, especially at those salaries.
@tigerdoc616 More surprising that Abreu accepted this, I think. We don’t see it much bc in no small part, veterans at the end of the tether often want to GTHO of places where they precipitously declined, and figure a fresh-ish start somewhere else may be just the thing to get them going again. .
Which suggests the Astros have been patient, and Astros fans haven’t given him too hard a time about his struggles. Not a fan either way so I really can’t say. Maybe someone else can weigh in on this?
Not sure he will be able to overcome it. The guy looks flat out overmatched and Father Time has caught up to him.
Bonds was an MVP hitter till mid 40s
About the same time his hat size started going down
Explain
Maybe not the best, most pure comparison…
Give Jose some roids.
Apples to oranges
Highly likely he was taking PED’s during the early 2000’s when he was maybe the greatest player ever.
Highly likely is an understatement when you look at his pirates days compared to his melon head days
Do roida help you hit a baseball
Exactly, that to me makes it pretty obvious.
They can certainly help you hit the baseball better.
Proof?
No, they help with muscle bulk and recovery. So at the very least, a hitter is able to have more PAs and hit the ball a bit farther when making hard contact.
Baseball has been very good to me – roid Sosa says yes, they do help.
My comment was to hotdog2
They help make your swing quicker, so yes.
Since steroids make you stronger, that increases bat speed, which just makes you a better hitter overall
Also I have never met someone who said that bonds MIGHT have not taken steroids, so I guess 73 homers was legit and he randomly grew into G.I. Joe in his 30s
@Hotdog 2 That nonsense gets an immediate Mute. Take care,
If someone banged on something loud like a trashcan to let Abreu know a heater was coming that would probably help. Wonder why nobody’s ever done that?? Oh wait…
He’s surprisingly younger than I thought. I hope this isn’t the end, but good
MLB career if it is.
Classy move to accept this assignment. Wishing him good health and progress.
The good news is the Astros get to face George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller this weekend.
ALCS preview
Sign Bauer. Everyone already hates the Astros anyway.
Is Yuli available?
He’s probably busy doing Asian eyes jokes somewhere.
He’s turning Japanese I really think so.
Ha! He’s in the Braves minor league system I think we are better off taking our chances with Loperfido
I too would like to he optioned to West Palm Beach.
Same here. I want to hang out at MarALago with Alina Habba. Sign me up!
Abreu has always been a team first guy. Helps when you’re in the Minors making 20 million a year. I hate to be an I told you so but that contract they offered him was for Silly money. I said so at the time and it was a bad deal before the ink dried. Class guy but he was basically over with the Sox.
I wanted the Cubs to sign him but 3 years was crazy!
It was a toss up between Belli and Abreu but Belli was only 1 year and it turned out way better for the Cubs. Plus Belli played 2 positions. But then the Cubs signed Mancini and Hosmer and that was ridiculous money also even though it was only like 15 million for Mancini. It worked out for the Cubs in the end.
I don’t think it was ever between Bellinger and Aberu, the Cubs priority was centerfield last year and they signed Bellinger early.
I felt they needed a bridge at first base as well, Aberu was rumored at one year which I thought was perfect. Being he was already living in Chicago, comfortable in the area, made a lot of sense. Even had he replicated what he did last year on a single year deal it would have worked out almost perfectly for the Cubs.
@Unclemike1526: How is paying Hosmer the league minimum “ridiculous money”?
Did you see the guy play? 5 bucks was too much. And 2 years for 15 million for Mancini was horrible and kept the Cubs from getting another reliever.
I saw the way our guys played and saw Abreu drive in 90 rbis.
One cannot assume Abreu would be as bad for the Cubs as he was for the Astros either, he was comfortable in Chicago and had a high rate of success in Wrigley.
Also, if all were to stay the same, Abreu would have hit 6 more home runs in Wrigley than in Houston.
I remember some strong rumblings about that. The Cubs and Jose apparently discussed a contract. Didn’t work out. The Cubs signed Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini and we know how that worked out.
@Unclemike1526 You think you’re going to get a 4.3 WAR player coming off a .300 BA season in 2 of the last 3 years, who rarely missed a game and who was getting MVP votes every year—for less than that?
Even Abreu’s K-rate dropped significantly in 2022. His EV rate was still plus plus, much higher than say, Pete Alonso’s. The only hitch might have been the .350 BABIP in 2022 and 2020, but he always had good BABIP numbers.
If you were able to predict his decline on the facts on record, there are 30 FOs with whom you can write your own ticket.
It has to be a humbling, if not embarrassing experience to be asked to do this, but I respect any one willing to swallow their pride and accept.
Breaking news! Flaherty may break the single game k record!
He sure is motivated pitching against his former teammates.
Sticking it to the Cardinals must be some kind of fun.
Was 6 up and 6 down before I had to leave to run errands.
White Sox dumpster fire is contagious
White Sox could take him back as long as Houston pays. He’d fit right in.
Like a European football loan transfer.
Sox benefit with fan favorite back.
Jose benefits feeling at home again whilst getting his stroke back.
Astros benefit by paying his salary but getting a better option short term until Jose looks ready and then bring him back.
MLB needs a loan transfer rule.
I mean why not.
White Sox take on his remaining salary for this year and next
Ask the astros to send back some decent prospects.
Baez, Matthews, Dezenzo, Blubaugh, Bloss.
You’re essentially buying prospects during bad years and giving the Astros some significant wiggle room financially.
Jose had some great seasons with the White Sox. A professional hitter, good in the clutch, solid in the dugout/club house. A quiet leader who led by example. One of my favorites. Will Jose land some where? Who knows? Maybe some team takes a chance.
I know your repeating the well-said line that he was a leader with the Sox. If he was a leader, was he any good as a leader? Makes you wonder considering how all fiends crawled out of the woodwork last season. As a leader was Abreu aware of the clubhouse problems? Was he able to keep it under control so that only when he left did it explode? Maybe he was a leader in the sense that he didn’t care if his teammates were dogging it. Turning a blind eye and zipping your lip are hardly the traits of a leader except for one who is a leader only in name.
@Fred K. Burke ” …good in the clutch, …”
—————————————————-
In fact, no:
baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=abreu…
for you Jose. I’m sure this has been very stressful. Best wishes
The Lastros are back bay bay!
Haha you been trash canned
Oh, those… things!
No way Josè. Southside might call.
Singleton and Cabbage are “options“, yet Brandon Belt, a Texas native no less, sits at home.
Belt sits at home as is his choice. All he had to do was tell his agent to pass the word that Money was not the obstacle teams expected it to be. If he had, he would be playing.
I have a lot of respect for Jose, has always seemed like a class act. He’ll figure it out, he may not be the borderline Hall of Famer he was with the White Sox, but he will still be a productive player.
@Desmond1992 That’s a real stretch, comrade. Better to say Jose was ‘borderline Hall of the Very Good’ with Chicago. Add in his Cuban stats and he probably makes the HOVG, but with Chicago he only put up three seasons of 9 better than 3.5 bWAR, and he had only one season better than 4.9 bWAR—where the context is a HOFer usually betters 5 bWAR every season of his prime..
Wow! Kudos to Mr. Abreu for accepting the assignment in an effort to help the team.
Agreeing to this was very classy of Abreu.
.099 batting avg means he was 7-for-71 in the first month of the season. He was only a former MVP (in the 60-game pandemic season) and a former Rookie of the Year.
I’d retire before accepting the demotion to Low-A.
You mean give up? Shows your character
How many Sox fans were furious with JR for not reupping Abreu for something like 5 years and $100M? I remember well all the flack I got on Sox boards when I said, “Let’im go.”
Don’t be surprised if he is back with the Sox this year if the Astros are willing to retain salary. Vaughn is a bust. Walsh is a medical mystery and Sheets is needed more in RF than 1B.
Abreu for Benintendi. Who says no?
Astros decline. Benintendi has quite a bit more owed in total contract dollars. JR would love the cash savings even if Abreu is toast since the team is awful until he sells.
Rising temps have always helped Abreu. He may at least be playable June thru August.
Benny has had more HR in a week than proud Jose will the rest of the season.
You can have Remilliard. Both got optioned so win win
The Astros say no, and it isn’t close. Benni has about $65M due, and Abreu only ~ $35M.
Worse places to go than West Palm Beach in spring while earning millions.
More like summer
Good, couldn’t happen to a worse organization.
This is rather unprecedented, but I think it’s the best move for the team and for Abreu. If anything can “fix” Abreu, I think it’s the pressure being removed from his shoulders and him having time to just work on himself without the pressure of winning ballgames (not that the Astros are doing much of that to begin with..) I still think he is washed but hopefully this will prove whether that’s true or not.
That takes a lot of guts, I give him a lot of credit. Most establish veterans players would rather get released than accepting the minors option.
Would you have more practicing time in the Minors than the Majors? Or you get lesser practice time since your time is taken more on transportation?
This is why you don’t sign a 37 year old player to a 3 year contract. Should be year to year at that point. Teams never learn.
Unless it’s Pudge or Cheli. Then the rule be dont sign a 47 yo to a 3 year contract.
I like the idea of seeing Joey Loperfido. He can play 1B, CF and run some too. I hope he plays well.
Can we stop using the word “slashing” when we’re talking about .237?
If it’s a number that goes between the slashes, he’s slashing.
If you are citing one statistic you probably should stop using the term slashing as there are no slashes in your slash line.
He’s citing this line:
>currently slashing .238/.319/.286.
Someone doesn’t know what “slashing” means… hint hint, it’s you.
Cool story, here’s what OP was referencing. Literally Abreu’s “slash line.”
>currently slashing .238/.319/.286.
Soreng, I wasn’t talking about you (if you were responding to me) I was talking to the guy that doesn’t know what a triple slash line is.
Whoops, my bad. Sorry!
Imagine reading this site and not knowing what a slash line is.
You have to applaud Jose for really honoring his contract, great job.
Buh Bye! Guy won’t be back. He’s cooked.
So instead of abreau’s life story, what’s the agreement on the assignment? Is it within cba? Is there an agreement to call abreau back up at some point? After a month or batting avg war threadhold?
mounting a solid finish by slashing .237/.299/.536
LOL
A solid finish? My god wtf are the standards now
Well, the leave average slugging percentage for 2023 was .417, given Abreu hit over 100 points higher than the league average that is considered “solid” as would the OPS of over .800.
Learn how to read a triple slash line.
I agree with many others.
I had heard what a Class act Jose Abreu was, on/off the field, Great teammate in clubhouse and community.
Since becoming an Astro, I have seen and heard how Wonderful he is.
So have I been disappointed in his struggles- Yes, but I had faith he and the organization could right the ship.
I can’t hardly imagine any other decorated MVP/All star of his caliber, to have the Courage and understanding to Willingly make this move- First for the Team and Himself.
I and Respect him more for it.
I pray Jose, you can relax, reset and find yourself again, We shall be Wishing you all the best, and Seen You Soon!!
Yeah he is a class act, accepting minor league assignment vs being DFA, released and forced to sign a minor league deal elsewhere. So brave, tremendous teammate.
Astros! Eat up the majority of his money and the White Sox will gladly take him. We’ll send you Andrew Vaughn, how about it?
Is Yuli gurriel still a Fa
Abreau is definitely a liability. But not the main reason for the demise of Houston. They had quite a 10 year or so run. All good things eventually come to an end.
To me, their problem is the owner. During Luhnow era, seemed like Crane kept his distance from the daily ongoings of the operation. Luhnow gets blasted by MLB as the fall guy for the trashcan tech sign stealing episode. Crane panics. Fires Jeff, and since than has seemed to become more involved with the daily operation since Jeff.
To get back on track, IMO, owner Crane has got to get out of the daily baseball decision making and a get comfortable putting full trust back in to his baseball people doung their jobs.
Why can’t Avi Garcia agree to doing this? It seems all he agrees to is going on the IL.
Avi, just spend the rest of your contract helping our AA team get to the playoffs! I’m pretty sure they can use some veteran bench help! Or you can be a protective bat on our Single A team.