The Houston Astros have not been among the most active teams in the ongoing free agency period. The Astros have at the least completed one notable move, as they came to terms with now-former Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu on a three-year deal in November.
Houston has opted to re-sign multiple key contributors from its 2022 World Series-winning run, but Yuli Gurriel remains a free agent. Gurriel has been linked with the Miami Marlins for a free agent deal and barring any major change before the start of the 2023 campaign, Abreu will take over for him at the first base position for Houston this year.
For Yordan Alvarez, as he touched on during the Astros’ FanFest event on Saturday, it was “hard losing” Gurriel, but he is looking forward to playing alongside the one-time American League MVP Award winner in the coming season.
“As soon as he signed, I was able to call and say hello to him,” Alvarez said. “We’ve gotten a chance to talk a lot more. I’m super excited for him to be there.
“It was hard losing Yuli [Gurriel], but losing a Cuban and getting a Cuban guy, I feel really excited for him to be here.”
Abreu is coming off of a productive 2022 regular season where he posted a .304 batting average and also notched a .378 OBP — the highest since his rookie campaign. His power numbers were down across the board. For one, he slugged a career-low 15 home runs over 157 games played.
Abreu has already touched base with Houston’s hitting coaches, and in the big picture, he has his sights set on doing what he can to contribute to the Astros’ high-octane offense.
“They spoke to me a little about my offense and how it would help the organization,” Abreu said. “They told me to continue to be the same person, the same person I was the last nine years in the majors. … I can’t say that I’m going to put up certain numbers, but I’m very excited to be here and just excited to support the team.
“Again, very grateful for all the guys giving me the opportunity to be here.”
Abreu capped off his run in Chicago with 243 home runs and 863 RBI recorded in 1,270 regular season contests played.
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