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When the Houston Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million contract in November 2022, they were hoping he would add significant pop to their lineup. After all, he had been one of the American League's better hitters for years.
That has not been the case thus far.
After a miserable debut campaign with the Astros in 2023, Abreu has been even worse this season, and it ultimately resulted in his demotion to Houston's spring training site in West Palm Beach at the beginning of May.
Abreu was then sent to Triple-A Sugar Land last Friday, and in two games with the Astros' minor-league affiliate, he went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts. Not exactly inspiring.
However, Houston called Abreu back up to the big leagues on Monday, and he ended up going 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the club's 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. The lone it drove Abreu's batting average back over .100, as he is now hitting .108 after entering the game sporting a horrendous .099 mark.
Jose Abreu was once a feared hitter before joining the Astros
Abreu was initially signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent out of Cuba back in 2013.
He made his major-league debut the following year and was very impressive, slashing .317/.383/.581 with 36 home runs, 35 doubles and 107 RBI over 622 plate appearances. That resulted in an All-Star selection for the first baseman, and he also took home AL Rookie of the Year honors while winning a Silver Slugger award to boot.
Abreu proceeded to spend the first nine years of his career with the White Sox, making three All-Star appearances along the way. He also won an AL MVP award in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign after slashing .317/.370/.617 with 19 homers and a league-leading 60 RBI across 262 trips to the dish.
The 37-year-old was a terrific offensive force throughout his entire tenure in Chicago, only dipping below an .800 OPS once (he posted a .798 OPS in 2018).
Prior to joining the Astros, however, Abreu did show some signs of slowing down.
In 2021, he slashed .261/.351/.481 with 30 long balls and 117 RBI. While the numbers were still solid, it represented the lowest batting average of Abreu's career and his second-worst slugging percentage. Then, in 2022, Abreu had a bit of a power shortage, finishing with just 15 dingers and 75 RBI. He still posted good stats otherwise, registering a slash line of .304/.378/.446. He also smashed 40 doubles. However, the diminishing power was certainly concerning given his old age.
Then, Abreu got to Houston in 2023 and slashed a meager .237/.296/.383 with 18 home runs and 90 RBI through 594 trips to the plate. Oddly enough, his homers increased from the year prior, but his doubles plummeted to 23, and he obviously wasn't making nearly as much contact in general.
This season, Abreu has barely even resembled a major-league ball player, owning a .108/.163/.122 slash line with no homers and four RBI. He has struck out 19 times while walking just thrice.
The Astros have still managed to boast a respectable offense even without Abreu's services, ranking No. 1 in batting average, fifth in OPS and home runs and 11th in runs scored. However, it would obviously be nice if Abreu can get going.
Houston entered Tuesday's action with a record of 24-30 and sits four-and-a-half games behind the Mariners for first place in the AL West.
