Much like the Houston Astros as a whole, Jose Abreu's 2024 campaign has gotten off to a dreadful start. Abreu's struggles haven't gone unnoticed by general manager Dana Brown, who gave his honest review of the first baseman's performance.
Abreu has started his season on a brutal 4-for-59 at the plate. All four hits have been singles, he has struck out 17 times and has made three errors at first base. Brown has not been impressed with what he has seen, but is hopeful that Abreu can bounce back, via Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
“Listen, there's no way to sugarcoat this: he's scuffling right now and I think he knows it,” Brown said. “It's wearing on him. I'm sure it's wearing on our hitting coaches. The frustration mounts, but ultimately, hopefully, we can turn this thing around. I think we're going to have to give him some time off, maybe platoon a little bit just to see if one of the other guys can get home and give him some time off.”
“It's tough to watch when you see him go through these struggles because you know he's such a gamer and he's a competitor and you look at what he did toward the end of last year, all of that was exciting,” Brown continued. “To start off the way he's starting off right now, it's frustrating for him. I guarantee he's frustrated.”
“But he's got to climb out of it or else we're going to have to mix and match because it's tough to keep going in that direction,” Brown concluded.
Abreu is in the second season of a three-year, $58.5 million contract with Houston. At that price, and with the first baseman's pedigree, the Astros need much better results.
With Abreu sitting, Houston turned to Jon Singleton at first base on Sunday. He hasn't faired much better, hitting .250 with no home runs or RBI. Still, the Astros simply can't afford Abreu to put up worse numbers than a player they're paying less than $1 million in 2024.
Dana Brown hasn't committed to fully benching Abreu, but it's clear he is on thin ice. His contract may force Houston to keep him in the lineup long-term. But Brown isn't going to let his struggles continue to cloud the offense. Bottom line, if Abreu can't find his swing, Brown is prepared to alter Houston's plan at first base.
Astros need the real Jose Abreu to stand up
Abreu was awarded such a large contract due to his performance with the Chicago White Sox. Spending the first nine years of his career with Chicago, Abreu hit .292 with 243 home runs and 863 RBI. He was a former MVP, Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star. Heading to Houston, he looked like everything the team could want at first base.
His first season with the team saw him bring his power, swatting 18 home runs and 90 RBI. However, it came with just a .237 batting average. Abreu's 130 strikeouts were an increase of 20 from the year prior.
The 2024 season has only gone worse for Jose Abreu. So much so that the front office is prepared to step in. Brown and company still have high hopes for their star first baseman. But it's clear something needs to change to get Abreu back on track.
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