Cleveland Guardians Offered Contract to Jose Abreu Before He Signed with Astros

The Cleveland Guardians missed out on free agent first baseman Jose Abreu, who the club reportedly offered a three-year contract to. Abreu instead signed with the Houston Astros Monday.

The Cleveland Guardians were reportedly in on free Jose Abreu, before the first baseman agreed to terms on a three-year contract with the Houston Astros Monday, Cleveland.com's Paul Hoynes reports.

Abreu's deal with the Astros is reportedly worth around $60 million over three years. The Guardians reportedly also offered Abreu a three-year contract, but the slugger chose Houston instead of Cleveland.

The Guardians may have missed out on adding a three-time American League All-Star and the 2020 AL MVP, but the fact that the club was pursuing a topflight free agent should be encouraging to the club's fan base. It will be interesting to see what moves the Guardians make this winter.

At the very least for Cleveland, the Guardians can be thankful that Abreu is leaving the American League Central division, thus weakening the Chicago White Sox, expected by many to be the Guardians' top competition in the division in 2023.

The Guardians' offseason is far from over. The addition of one more big bat to Cleveland's lineup would certainly help their club as they hope to compete for an American League Pennant.

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.