Houston – The Houston Astros terminated José Abreu on Friday, less than halfway through his three-year, $58.5 million contract.
Dana Brown, general manager, stated that this was an exceedingly tough decision given how much money he is still owed.
“It’s always tough when the deal doesn’t work out, but it just didn’t work out this time,” Brown stated.
This season, the 37-year-old Abreu batted.124 (14 for 113) with two home runs and seven RBIs while spending time in the minors working on his swing. The Astros still owe him $30.8 million for the contract he signed prior to last season.
Brown and manager Joe Espada met with Abreu on Friday afternoon to share the news.
“I have nothing but good things to say about him,” Brown stated. “I felt he was quite graceful. He handled things well. He understands baseball, and he recognises that he wasn’t contributing and had run out of time.”
Espada praised Abreu’s professionalism and said releasing him was difficult.
“Very tough day,” he said. “It was not a simple chat. José Abreu has meant a lot to this organisation, since he helped us reach another championship series last year. And it was not easy given what he has accomplished in this game.”
Abreu, a three-time All-Star in nine seasons with the Chicago White Sox, was selected MVP in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was named American League Rookie of the Year in 2014 after defecting from Cuba the previous year.
He agreed to be optioned to Houston’s minor league facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 30 in an effort to get back on track at the plate. He spent roughly a month away from the big leagues, playing seven games in the minors, but his relegation did not result in better success when he returned on May 27.
“Ultimately when guys lose their timing, you look for them to go down and to regain their timing and to get on time with the baseball to have quality at-bats and things like that,” Brown stated. “And we didn’t notice it. We didn’t observe any changes in the at-bats, so we figured it was time to make a change.”
Abreu’s output dipped drastically with the Astros. Last year, he batted.237, his lowest career average, with 18 home runs and 90 RBIs.
Abreu is a career.283 hitter with 263 home runs and 960 RBIs during 11 seasons.
Houston’s clubhouse was sombre ahead of Friday’s game, and teammate Mauricio Dubón said Abreu was a vital part of the team, despite his failures this year.
“Watching him go, it’s not good,” Dubón remarked. “We are a family here, that is the thing. It’s a gut hit for the atmosphere in the clubhouse.”
Houston owes him $30,822,504, which includes the $11,322,504 balance from this year’s salary and $19.5 million for 2025. Any team can sign him for a prorated share of the $740,000 major league minimum, with the Astros covering the remainder.
For the time being, the Astros will rely on Jon Singleton to be their primary first baseman, and Brown expressed hope that he will take advantage of the chance so that they do not have to pursue a first baseman before the trade deadline.
“Ultimately if he can step up now that he’s getting some playing time… if he grabs the bull by the horns and he takes off, then we won’t have to address that at first base,” Brown stated.
Singleton was hitting.213 with five home runs and 14 RBIs through 50 games this season.
“I actually don’t feel any different,” he stated. “I’m still going to go out there and do my best to help the team win ball games. I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
