Jose Abreu Makes Wild Claim with Return to MLB Imminent
The Houston Astros made a signing last season that was already confusing when it happened and it has only gotten worse since.
Jose Abreu signed a three-year, $58.5 milion dollar deal last season. Since signing, he has had one mediocre season and has been sent down to West Palm beach to work on his swing.
The Former MVP has made strides since his demotion and looks like he is about to come back up to play at the MLB level. He recently released a statement with some wild claims about his plans upon return.
Here is the full statement from Abreu, per Chandler Rome:
"What I can tell you is my head is in a good spot right now. When I was going through it, when your head is not in a good spot, you feel like everything is going down. There was a point, and I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart, I couldn't even know how to hit, how to field. I was a little lost. But I'm humble enough to recognize that and I'm telling you I'm trying to be the best José Abreu I can be and the one you guys know."
The problem with the statement is that he needs to be better than the Abreu that Houston fans know. Since his arrival, he has a combined slashing line of .221/.280/.352. This season, before his demotion, that line was down all the way at .099/.156/.113. His OPS has peaked at .284 with a low of .176 in 2024.
Since his demotion, veteran Jon Singleton has gone under a bit of a career resurgence. The 32-year-old is slashing .233/.338/.379 this season.
Many question if he needs to be called up at all. The Astros don't have much of a choice, though, as they can't stash Abreu in the minors against his will. They'll need to let him come back or else they would have to eat his large salary.
In six games in the minors, the first baseman is slashing .280/.457/.837 and hit his first home run since last season. Things will be looking up if he can indeed carry those numbers over to the next level.
It looks as though he will be returning for the series against the Seattle Mariners, according to Rome. The transaction wire on Monday will give a clear indication on the team's plans for their slugger.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders