I predict Abreu is about to show why we signed him. I do not think he's suddenly too old. His contact rate in 2017 and 2015 were similar at ~200 PA and he ended those seasons with an above average OPS+. Just a little more patience.
Count me as SUPER SURPRISED he has not come around. But the Texans success has not been a surprise to me. And the key has been FA moves before the draft to raise the Texans Tide so the draft picks aren't beached from the start.
Funny that everyone was ******** on (myself included) Bellinger in those early pages of this thread when he was probably one of the only good value buys to be had! Imagine if in an alternate reality Click is not pushed out and instead for some reason sings Bellinger to start at 1B for the Astros. That would of gone down well around here lmao. Maybe sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery to figure a few things out.
I wonder if there’s any precedent whatsoever of an aging slugger sucking **** thru a straw for 5 weeks then agreeing to get optioned, working out at the complex for weeks, then coming back up and being successful?
I thought they did a watered down version with Beltran in 2017 (didn’t send him down, but he was no longer in the lineup as much)… but every time I bring up that season, seems like he played more and more than I ever remembered. He was awful… and yet was still getting playoff starts (even had a key hit or two).
Usually only happens with a new team. Matt Carpenter and Pujols are 2 guys that looked cooked to suddenly find new life in recent years. Hell, freaking Carlos Gomez. He wasn't old, but that sucked.
It is my opinion that it would be an absolutely terrible idea to have Jose Abreu ever play another game for the Astros. If they are rehabbing him to show other teams his BP exit velo to try to dump some of his salary, fine. But bringing him back up while this team is trying to claw its way back into contention seems like it would be really really stupid.
While I agree with this, I don't see the Astros getting away from it. Abreu had to agree to be sent down. If they trade him instead of bringing him back, then the players association and future free agents will have a beef and it will hurt the organization. That is unless Abreu agrees to the trade AND is happy with it. I think players would look at it as bad faith.
I see arguments like this too often - team potentially damaging their reputation with how they treat players... I've never, ever seen it manifest. What is the practical argument *against* the Astros divesting a clearly cooked Jose Abreu??? Nobody - beyond performative bandstanding - is going to fault the Astros for cutting bait. He's been sub-awful. All these entities care about is money. It always talks.