ASTROS FREE AGENT FLOP: Houston’s Disastrous Free Agent May Have Played His Last MLB Game

Following the 2024 MLB season, one of the positions that the Houston Astros needed to find an upgrade at was first base.

The corner infield spot was a black hole in their lineup as the three-year, $58.5 million contract the team agreed to with Jose Abreu ahead of the 2023 campaign turned out to be one of the worst deals in baseball.

Appearing on the MVP ballot in four consecutive years leading into his free agency, the Astros thought they were getting a legitimate middle-of-the-order producer to help take the offense to another level.

Unfortunately for Houston, his production fell off a cliff upon joining the team.

In 2023, Abreu was a 0.0 WAR performer, producing a .237/.296/.383 slash line with 18 home runs, 23 doubles and 90 RBI.

That was concerning, especially when taking into account that he still wasn’t providing much of an impact defensively. He had a dWAR of -0.8 and was negative in all of Baseball-Reference’s Total Zone and DRS statistics.

It was hard to imagine things getting worse in Year 2 of the deal, but the bottom total fell out in 2024.

Abreu was unplayable, producing a ghastly -1.7 WAR in only 35 games and 120 plate appearances. He offered nothing at the plate with a .124/.167/.195 slash line with only two home runs and two doubles.

On June 14, the Astros finally had enough and released him despite not even being halfway through the contract signed.

And since that point, there hasn’t been even a peep about Abreu drawing interest from teams around the league.

As Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report shared, his MLB career could very well be over after the disastrous 2024 campaign, along with fellow first baseman, Miguel Sano.

“Sanó’s comeback in 2024 went so poorly that it’s reasonable to believe MLB is done with him. The same may be true of the 38-year-old Abreu, whose MVP and All-Star credentials (not to mention his contract) didn’t save him from getting released by the Houston Astros last June.”

He has not stopped trying to keep his professional career alive, playing with San Juan in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In 95 plate appearances, he produced a .221/.274/.442 slash line with five home runs and four doubles.

Taking his spot in Houston’s lineup will be Christian Walker, who has averaged 32 home runs per year over the last three campaigns and has won a Gold Glove Award in with the Arizona Diamondbacks each season as well.