1:48pm: Houston will choose the contract of catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel from Triple-A Sugar Land, reports KPRC-2’s Ari Alexander. In 201 plate appearances in Triple-A this season, Hummel boasts a .301/.423/.509 slash (135 wRC+) with seven homers, 13 doubles, eight steals (in 9 tries), a 17.4% strikeout charge and an enormous 16.4% stroll charge. The Astros acquired the 29-year-old from the Giants by way of an April waiver declare and later succeeded in passing him by way of outright waivers.
1:05pm: The Astros introduced Friday that they’ve launched first baseman Jose Abreu. The previous American League Rookie of the 12 months and Most Beneficial Participant is within the second season of a three-year, $58.5MM contract. Houston will eat the rest of the cash nonetheless owed to Abreu on that deal. A corresponding transfer might be introduced by the membership later right this moment. Since Abreu’s launch opens a spot on the 40-man roster, it’s attainable the ’Stros will herald somebody from outdoors the group.
Whereas Abreu usually exceeded expectations in touchdown that sizable three-year deal, few might’ve predicted that the contract would go this poorly. Abreu hit .237/.296/.383 with Houston final season and commenced the 2024 season in such a calamitous funk that the veteran agreed to be optioned at some extent when he was 7-for-71 on the season. Since returning, Abreu hasn’t regarded any higher, hitting .167/.186/.333 in 43 journeys to the plate.
General, Abreu’s tenure with the workforce will come to an finish with a surprising .217/.275/.351 batting line in 714 plate appearances. That’s about 28% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. When coupled with below-average protection at first base, Abreu was 1.6 wins under alternative stage, per Baseball-Reference, and a full two wins under alternative per FanGraphs.
Though there have been some indicators of decline in 2022, Abreu nonetheless hit .304/.378/.446 that season. A very good portion of his energy had eroded (therefore the pedestrian .141 ISO and career-low 15 homers), and a good bit of his manufacturing was propped up by a .350 common on balls in play that the plodding Abreu was by no means going to maintain over the long term. The Astros, working with no common supervisor for the primary portion of the offseason, nonetheless paid a hefty per-year value to signal Abreu into his late 30s, with proprietor Jim Crane spearheading negotiations on that deal and on Rafael Montero’s personal shocking three-year pact. Although the size of the pact was a modest shock, it pales compared to how shocking the extent of Abreu’s decline has been.
Between Abreu and Jon Singleton, Houston’s lack of manufacturing at first base has been close to the underside of all Main League Baseball. Solely the Rockies — Kris Bryant, Elehuris Montero, Michael Toglia and Hunter Goodman — have seen their first basemen mix to ship a lesser output than the Astros’ depressing .181/.262/.291 batting line. That dearth of offense from a sometimes bat-heavy place within the lineup has been one among many causes for the Astros’ disappointing 31-38 file. Houston sits eight video games again of the division-leading Mariners and 6 video games out within the AL Wild Card hunt (with six groups to leapfrog as a way to declare a type of three spots).
Abreu’s contract will now be lifeless cash on the Astros’ payroll each this 12 months and subsequent. It nonetheless counts towards the luxurious tax as effectively, despite the fact that he’s now not on the roster. That lifeless cash solely additional provides to a troubling long-term outlook that raises reliable questions in regards to the workforce’s capability to proceed placing a perennial contender on the sector. Regardless of their questionable long-term outlook and their 2024 struggles, nevertheless, common supervisor Dana Brown — employed after the signing of Abreu — has insisted that his workforce is not going to be a vendor and that he expects to function as a purchaser within the run-up to subsequent month’s commerce deadline. The Astros reportedly have curiosity in adding multiple starting pitchers.
As for Abreu himself, he’ll now head to the open market and have the ability to discipline curiosity from different golf equipment. It’s unlikely that any workforce will place him straight onto the large league roster in gentle of his latest struggles, so he’d very seemingly have to accept a minor league deal.
Whether or not Abreu is amenable to that kind of association isn’t clear, however gamers typically need to exit on their very own phrases reasonably than be compelled from the sport they love resulting from declining efficiency. Abreu’s willingness to be optioned earlier this season and the fixed reward he’s obtained from teammates each in Chicago and in Houston concerning his work ethic and keenness for the sport might level a willingness to maintain going. Teammates Mauricio Dubon, Jeremy Pena and Kendall Graveman all lauded Abreu’s work ethic final September when discussing his late-season scorching streak with Chandler Rome of The Athletic, in addition to his affect within the clubhouse. That drive, mixed together with his sterling clubhouse fame and excellent observe file in Chicago, might result in curiosity on what quantities to a no-risk flier from a workforce with a necessity for assist at first base and/or towards left-handed pitching.
