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
Thanks obama
SkipperLou: Yes, maybe one day, many decades from now, her legitimate birth certificate will surface.
Her?
About as dumb as a Bernie one
To be fair arguing politics on a sports site is pure our brain rot from both sides lol
@cr4 Amazing, to think there are still chronological adults who have yet to figure out that US politics is mere theater, intended to keep us at each other’s throats over 2% of the issues, specifically social issues that the billionaires who own the government don’t care about, issues which are almost surgically divorced from economics so they don’t get in the way of looting the treasury.
They have yet to figure out you can vote, but someone you cannot vote against war, you cannot vote against Wall St., you cannot vote against militarized police, you cannot vote for less government…
It’s just funny that we’re down to a choice between far right and center right and the guy who hasn’t even been in office (Bernie) who wants to bring back FDR policies (the ones that pulled us out of the Great Depression) is too left for them.
Ok, enjoy hanging on by a thread then. See if the billionaires ever feel like letting any crumbs fall from the table (spoiler: they don’t)
You’re either 12 or never took an economics course
Let’s go Brandon!
You’re a presumptuous fool and a complete Tool, cndb41a.
They’re all fake and frauds, nj.
cr4 “pure our brain rot”??
Bring it, JackStrawb!!
Pro baseball like politics are corrupt to the core . But no turning back . Only sowing what they are reaping . Everyone is going busted because of GREED
West Palm Beach? Maybe it’s in a Mar a Lago bathroom.
From what I’ve read, you have to flush those Mar a Lago toilets “10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once”. Kooky, huh?
Plenty of interesting reading material in there too.
Thanks to the clueless imbeciles and their political commentary
Why doesn’t everyone grow up and realize that anyone politically inclined is being played for fools? Keep politics where they belong and let people that are trying to catch up on baseball do it in peace! Both sides suck just about as much as the ones choosing sides!
I thought we were having a discussion involving complex plumbing issues?
baseballfreak: Heads up their asses is why. Almost everyone is steeped in Perpetual Infantilism, obsessed with sports or comic books or various collecting, or, much, much worse: Hollywood, movies, celebrities, gambling, pop music, wrestling, etc.
Stuffing their faces all day, every day, with poison semi-food; and willfully injecting themselves with other brain-damaging poisons like weed, cigars, liquor, Rx’s, tattoo ink….things that they PAY for, no less!
Most people are absolute messes, and hopeless.
baseballfreak: Heads up their asses is why. Almost everyone is steeped in Perpetual Infantilism, obsessed with sports or comic books or various collecting, or, much, much worse: Hollywood, movies, celebrities, gambling, pop music, wrestling, etc.
Stuffing their faces all day, every day, with poison semi-food; and willfully injecting themselves with other brain-damaging poisons like weed, cigars, liquor, Rx’s, tattoo ink….things that they PAY for!
Most people are absolute messes, and hopeless.
One more time and Beetlejuice appears!
Site froze up and I had to refresh. Not sure why it posted twice.
Probably because it’s twice as important and relevant as any comment in the history of this site. If only all of the pathetic lunkheads would read it and learn from it.
Which of course will never happen.
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…
Unfortunately Beltran is gone and Cora is managing Boston, so the 2 cheaters have been long gone for quite a while.
I know Altuve and Bregman are little guys so they’re easy to miss, but those little cheaters are still there.
Altuve didn’t like the system.
Not the cheating aspect but the system they were doing to cheat didn’t work for him?
He asked them to not do it when he was at the plate, so you tell me.
Again, not the cheating aspect? But the way they were cheating wouldn’t benefit him? There is no way to parse a few bad apples from that season and team. The whole bunch is spoiled because all went along with it. Not one player coach etc. stopped it. They all cheated because they all prospered from the cheating with winning. How is what I just wrote wrong?
Even as a Mariners fan, I’m over the whole Astros cheating thing. It happened, get over it & move on. They won the Championship fair & square in 2022.
It’s wrong because:
1. Cheating is about intent. He had desire to use that system. If he wanted to cheat, he wouldn’t have objected to them banging the trash can during his at-bats (which they did anyways).
2. You don’t know what was said or not said.
3. “There is no way to parse a few bad apples from that season and team” – except I literally did just that. You just don’t want there to be a way.
Well, aren’t you the mature boy on the playground. I. . . have nothing to get over. Maybe I was seeking something else? But thanks for chiming in.
no* Typo. I was more than happy to point out the flaws in your logic. You’re welcome!
Oh, I thought you were replying to me. Whoops!
My last replay was to our Mariners friend Desmond 1992.
This is to goastros123. You gave me what I was looking for and I thank you for that. What you are saying is what he said after the fact. Cheated can be after the fact as well. He cheated you, as well as all Astro fans and the game of baseball in 2017. They aren’t the first and will not be the last. I was just curious on how you parse him from them. Thanks.
And you just reinforced #3 by saying what you just said. I’ll break down for you: cheating = trying to gain an unfair advantage. Asking them to not bang the trashcan during his at-bats = the opposite of that. Therefore, he did not cheat and that is how you parse him.
How is Altuve’s, or everyone involved for that matter, cover up (or lie by omission while it was perpetrated) not an intricate part of the cheating that went on? He prospered as the team prospered, that is why he said nothing. He stole like the rest. They all did. Cheating involves lying. I just wanted the why you are defending someone who stole from you, as his fan, and you gave it. Thank you.
For you, cheating is not the same as lying about cheating. Thanks.
But since they did bang, you’re saying that he simply cheated without trying. Now what was the reason he wouldn’t take his shirt off again?
What you just said makes zero sense. Lol.
Altuve not cheater he just shy
until one of the relief pitchers from that 2022 team ends up on the Oakland A’s and rats them out for hacking into the other team’s PitchCom
Not funny. Swing and a miss
What’s amazing to me is all anyone mentions is the sign stealing scandal and ignore the fact Astros were also on the forefront of the spider tack era.
A major reason why little Robby Manfred hates Bauer so much is because he called out the Astros pitching staff for cheating and MLB baseball for doing nothing about it.
Yes, let’s ignore the allegations and him displaying signs of being a bad teammate to focus on him “exposing” the Astros.
Being an a hole doesn’t mean Bauer was wrong about stuff he said.
Yeah, Bauer was a terrible teammate… such a terrible teammate that several Cleveland pitchers gave him credit for helping them elevate their game.
You should do some research on the “bad teammate” thing. It steams from his time in Arizona where he wanted to follow his own training regime and coach, at the time that was unheard of. Flash forward to now, almost every single pitcher follows their own training regime and has their own personal pitching coach.
@drasco036 Can always count on some sad schlub to defend Trevor Bauer in the MLBTR comment section (regardless of what the article is about).
He once won an arbitration case against the then Cleveland Indians and said the Indians tried to assassinate his character. I suggest you do some research of your own because that clubhouse cancer stigma stems from more than just his decisions in Arizona.
It’s not that he was wrong, but rather he had zero credibility on account of him fighting against the spider tack ban.
That is basically what teams do in arbitration hearings. And maybe you should read those entire articles.
I actually brought up the fact Bauer called out the Astros pitchers for cheating.
It’s the Bauer haters that come out in full force whenever his name is mentioned.
Oh, can you name others players who accused teams of trying to assassinate their character during arbitration cases and made it sound like a personal attack? I’ll gladly admit I’m wrong if you can name at least 5. Maybe you should revisit Bauer’s entire career from beginning to now. Defending him is a horrible look for you.
You’re clearly defending him. Not a good look for you.
What isn’t a good look is for goastros to comment and then mute me.
Sorry I’m a not a sheep that makes up his own mind vs blinding following “popular” (media infused bias) opinion.
Horton to AAA, News at …….well now.
In the words of Astro great Mike Scott: “That’s what she said”
Bauer is that you?
Sounds good, but if we win it all don’t rip my jersey off. It’s against my religion or something like that…
Cmon man, that’s not a comms array under there… it’s my third, fourth, and fifth nipples and associated equipment and peripherals and wiring harness, etc.
@raisins You dont get real time pitch calls from your nipples? Must be tough.
Stick a car Jumpstarter to each one and see what kind of sign you get…bzzz ow.
He just shy
@C Us Sink: Woah! An Astros trash can joke in 2024?
Super hilarious and original, bro!
Astros still living in his head rent free.
No statute of limitations. Once a cheater always a cheater. Or haven’t you heard, the Samny-Raffy-Big Mac hall of fame display has had a bit of a delay
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.
Pass.
Might I ask why?
Why do some keep bringing this up?
That’s what you mean, right? Please tell me that’s what you mean.
Guess again
I’m very sorry to hear it.
Because he’s an unlikable guy who abuses woman. No team needs a guy like that.
Your Astros traded for Roberto Osuna after his domestic violence incident. Stop talking.
I think I’ll keep talking because that is irrelevant to the topic of why the Astros should not sign Trevor Bauer. He asked, and I answered. Try again, bud.
If incompetent is how you want to be judged and treated, cool with me son.
If you want to make things difficult for your favorite team by signing Trevor Bauer, go right ahead and ask them to sign him. Bauer would only make things worse.
Way to change the subject again, incompetent.
You said no team needs a guy who abuses women. Your team gladly accepted one. Instead of owning it, you called it irrelevant. It IS relevant because your Astros not only accept abusers but will gladly cheat.
Feel free to add hypocrite to your list of achievements and accept that you are flat out wrong about your Astros.
The fact that not one team wants him even for practically nothing is information most people can use to understand the situation. Those who can’t make any sense of it are basically volunteering for a cult. No amount of information will ever penetrate that armor.
@goastros123 Fake news!
Signing him won’t make anything difficult.
I got asked a question and I answered. I didn’t change the topic: you did.
He’s not worth the headache.
People said the same thing about the SDSU punter and then the Chiefs signed him and it was a story for like a day or two.
You answered nothing, incompetent. You changed the topic. You know you backed yourself in a corner with the Bauer comment.
Kid, admit you were wrong and should have thought before typing. I promise I’ll forgive you for your hypocrisy and lack of knowledge.
Deal, goastros?
A lot of fans completely miss the point. The policy requires suspended players to take ownership of their behavior and accept the need to modify it if they wish to be employed in the game. This is the road back for them. Until now all, except for the one, have taken it. This is the only comparison anyone needs to make to understand why nobody wants him even for nothing.
^ Exactly. He dodges responsibility and shows zero remorse. No team wants or needs a guy like that. It speaks volumes about his character. I do not want him on the Astros because of that. He would only be a hindrance.
“I’m certainly taking accountability for my role in this. I’ve put myself in a lot of positions that have made things very hard for people, and I’m trying to be better.”
“I agreed to do things I shouldn’t have done,” Bauer said. “It was reckless. It hurt a lot of people along the way. It made things very difficult for Major League Baseball, for the Dodgers, my teammates, friends, family, people close to me. So I’ve done a lot of reflecting on that and made a lot of changes in my life to address that.”
Certainly sounds like he took responsibility for his actions…
He says it without actually doing it, because then he claims to be a victim who hasn’t done anything wrong. Taking accountability in these cases means accepting that you broke the rules and giving MLB and the PA reason to believe that you understand why and aren’t going to embarrass the sport again. In a long interview in the LA Times a couple of months ago he made it clear that his head just isn’t in that space yet, and may never be. He is radioactive for a reason, and this is it.
Yes, Bauer has to take the walk the shame while people throw feces on him.
He’s radio active because sheep like you believe what you want to believe. People should just lay down, allow themselves to be extorted and not stand up for themselves.
He engages in a consensual act, nothing to apologize for, he apologized for putting himself in that position and he would not do it again.
For all those who complain about the rough sex aspect, check your wives browser history because women, not men, want it a lot more than you probably think.
Like I said, some people volunteer to join cults. This is why they exist.
You win today’s frowny.
🙁
Not my fault you live a sexually sheltered life.
You win the rare but coveted double frowny.
🙁 🙁
And you win the titanium dunce cap.
I sure hope you didn’t strain anything coming up with this witticism.
Even if those allegations never happened, his online rants and misogynistic bullying and his blatant disrespect for the game as well as for one of it’s great managers in Francona, would be reasons enough for teams to avoid him.
@grnmtnyeti None of that happened. Ever
He certainly bullied women on the internet AND threw the ball over the outfield fence instead of handing it to Francona. You can stick your head back in the sand now…
si.com/mlb/2019/01/09/indians-trevor-bauer-college…
He is a loser
You accuse him of “misogynistic bullying.” There is no evidence that what he did to Ms. Gilles was misogynistic in nature.
And people need to let it go on the “throwing the ball over the fence” thing. Who the Hell cares? The Reds and Dodgers sure didn’t.
“No team wants Bauer”.
“Oh yeah, we’ll take players with domestic violence on their record”.
You wear the dunce cap well.
Lots of players have DV on their record. If you want to blackball all of them then that’s fine but it’s all or nothing. Bauer wasn’t even the most severe.
Dating back to 1997, only 19 players have gotten in trouble for domestic abuse, and most of them are no longer in MLB. Because of that, you can’t blackball them. Only a few currently play for a team. Whether or not Bauer is/was the most severe is irrelevant to the fact that if the Astros or any other team wanted him, he’d already be signed because right now he costs next to nothing. Again, Harambe: no one wants or needs a guy like him.
Suspensions* Whoops. There’s been a few players who engaged in domestic abuse that were never suspended, such as Milton Bradley. Those players are also no longer in MLB. Defending Bauer is a horrible look for you, but I answered your question, Harambe. See ya. I’m done here.
Oh no, grnmtnyeti, don’t tell me he’s a….a….a……..a BULLY!??
No, not that. Not a bully!!
Oh, the humanity…!
goastros you are defending domestic violence. Seriously you need help, let alone being done.
re: Osuna. Who cares?! That’s a private matter between family members. None of your or my or MLB’s effing business.
How does one “take ownership” of being falsely accused and innocent and scapegoated and railroaded??!
What the eff do YOU really know about any of that, goastros??!
Do you have a shred of valid evidence that might demonstrate that he’s NOT the victim here?!
goastros: Yeah, I figured you’d have absolutely nothing valid to say about it.
Bauer “took ownership” of putting himself in a bad situation, lots of players do, but most players are not as hated by the commissioner or “fans” the way Bauer is hated. Look at what happened with Verdugo when he was in the minors.
What gets me is people blindly following and ignoring the fact or the suspicions because they don’t like Bauer. The facts are Bauer was never charged with a crime, ergo go never had to defend himself legally and was never brought to court on a civil lawsuit. Bauer actually showed civility by dropping his defamation suit.
I understand why people are quick to jump on Bauer though because the media reporting. A google search will show you “oh the awful things Bauer is ACCUSED of doing” “look at the pictures of what the woman SAID he did” without any proof of wrong doing. As the say, media doesn’t care if they are right, just first. They don’t care about anything but getting clicks.
I also don’t think people realize just how common “rough” intercourse is. I’ve never had a woman tell me closed fist before but slapped, choked unconscious, leave handprints for days… some weirder things and it’s never me, it’s them.
@drasco036 Weird flex but ok.
I was just trying to point out that, in my experience, it’s women who typically want it rough. Everyone wants to berate Bauer for beating women when the only evidence is that he engaged in rough intercourse (by his own admission). That doesn’t mean he’s a monster who enjoys beating up women.
drasco: “evidence”??!
I just mentioned Bauer being the first pitcher to call out the Astros pitching staff for cheating, I imagine there are still some hurt feelings there.
Others knew about it and Fiers was the one who actually blew the whistle
AFTER he accepted his WS ring and his $500K playoff share. I didn’t see where he gave those back. What a schmuck.
Trevor Bauer called out the Astros pitching staff for cheating in 2018, the sign stealing wasn’t outed until 2019.
Being a whistle blower implies he didn’t do it for selfish reasons. The guy did talked to the media because he was butt hurt
And you would be wrong, but I can see how you reached that conclusion because you clearly love the guy (which is sad).
Hard sex is abuse
@thelegendaryharambe: You Bauer simps really don’t know how to give it a rest.
Nope. He’s still an immature loser.
Maybe Bauer can help Justine and Kate with Le Sexy time
Kinky!
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.