LAST RESORT
Houston Astros make necessary, difficult decision on Jose Abreu
Apr 30, 2024, 4:24 pm
LAST RESORT
The Houston Astros will option slumping first baseman José Abreu to their spring training facility to try and get the 2020 AL MVP back on track.
General manager Dana Brown made the announcement Tuesday, saying that they’d make the move Wednesday. The 37-year-old will report to the Astros complex in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Brown said the decision was made after a meeting that included himself, Abreu, coaches and front-office personnel.
Abreu, in the second season of a $58.5 million, three-year contract, is hitting .099 with just one extra-base hit and three RBIs. In 77 plate appearances across 22 games this season, Abreu has just seven hits.
Brown said Abreu was very receptive during their conversation and had a good attitude about the move.
“Jose Abreu is an outstanding human being,” Brown said. “He is unselfish and he’s a teammate’s guy and he wants to get himself back to what he was doing last fall. And so, in the midst of this conversation, you could see that this guy is passionate and determined to get back to helping his team.”
“And so he unselfishly was on board with an agreement with going back to West Palm Beach and getting some extra bats, getting some detailed instruction on what we could do to get him back,” Brown continued.
The Astros selected the contract of Joey Loperfido from Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday and he will likely play some first base, but Brown indicated that he’d mostly be used in the outfield. The 24-year-old was set to make his major league debut Tuesday night against the Guardians in left field, leaving Jon Singleton to fill in for Abreu at first base. Singleton entered Tuesday hitting .238 with 10 hits and no RBIs.
Abreu was the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year and is a three-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger award winner. He in his 11th big league season.
“He got to the point where he was frustrated,” Brown said. “It’s rare to do it. But I think it tells us about his dedication and commitment and I don’t think he sees this as a long term and I don’t think we see it as a long term thing. I think it’s more like… let’s go down, let’s make some adjustments. Let’s get the rhythm and timing back. And I think in his eyes, he’s looking at it as I’ll be back in a couple of weeks or whatever it takes to get better.”
Abreu hit .237 with 18 home runs and 90 RBIs last season in his first year in Houston after nine seasons with the White Sox. He had four homers and 13 RBIs in 11 postseason games.
“The bat speed is still pretty good,” Brown said. “So, we’ve got to get his timing right and we’ve got to get his rhythm right, so that he can consistently do it. And so I still feel very optimistic about it.”
Jon Singleton, Joey Loperfido and Mauricio Dubón will get the run at first base in José Abreu’s absence, Joe Espada said. It does not sound like he wants to use Yainer Diaz or Victor Caratini there, but didn’t totally rule it out.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 30, 2024
Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.