Houston Astros Major Flop Still Takes Up Important Chunk of Payroll

The Houston Astros haven't made many wrong moves, but this one didn't work out as planned.

Jun 5, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu (79) reacts after a play during the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

When the Houston Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million deal, the hope was for him to be the player he was during the first nine years of his career with the Chicago White Sox.

Abreu won the American League MVP Award in 2020, and while that was the shortened COVID season, he still had an impressive campaign.

It wasn't like that year was a fluke, either, as he finished with MVP votes in seven of his nine seasons with the White Sox.

The year prior to him joining the Astros, he slashed .304/.378/.446 with an OPS+ of 134. Abreu's power numbers were down compared to most of his career, but he finished that campaign with 15 home runs and 40 doubles. All that to say, there weren't many signs, if any, of him slowing down.

However, during his time in Houston, he was arguably one of the worst players in Major League Baseball. The 37-year-old slashed .237/.236/.383 with an 87 OPS+, the worst mark of his career, in his first season with the club.

It was much worse in 2024, slashing .124/.167/.195 with 28 strikeouts in 113 at-bats.

His poor showing led to the Astros' releasing him, which required them to eat the $30.8 million left on his contract.

A few months later, he's still hurting the team.

Because he's still on their payroll, despite not being with the club anymore, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report named him Houston's "worst-bang-for-your-buck player."

"The Houston Astros released José Abreu on June 14 with $30.8 million remaining on his three-year, $58.5 million contract. Accepting that level of sunk cost speaks to just how ineffective the former Chicago White Sox slugger was this year, hitting .124/.167/.195 with four extra-base hits in 120 plate appearances. To his credit, Abreu, 37, took a demotion to the minors in his stride as he tried to work through his struggles at the plate, but it might be the end of the road for the three-time All-Star and 2020 AL MVP winner."

Abreu takes up 7.6% of the Astros payroll in 2024, which is sizeable, especially for a player who isn't on the team.

Releasing him was the right thing to do. However, Houston's first base problem haven't been fixed.

Starting first baseman Jon Singleton has been better than the Cuba native but is slashing .231/.317/.372. Singleton being the better option is only because of how bad Abreu had been, not because of how well he's played.

They'll have to address it moving forward, and reports around the trade deadline indicated they were looking to do so in July.

Perhaps they'll have more conversations about it in the winter months.