I get that the Astros have an obligation to either DFA him or give him a final (we hope) chance. But what I don't understand is why now? He only got 8 PAs above complex ball to "get fixed" The Mariners lead the division and have owned the Astros since the ALDS sweep. They won the series earlier this year and they have their 4 best pitchers who are all right handed. I would keep him in AAA and give him another 3 games, 12-15 PAs and then bring him up for the Min. Series.
This is just a bad and awkward situation. It appears J. Abreu is done so if he comes up here and continues to stink up the joint he should be DFA'd. Screw him and his agent at that point. This whole situation has been a disaster and all coming to a head right before a huge series. I can't blame Abreu as much as the FO because he's an egotistical athlete who doesn't know his time is up and he's washed up. If he can somehow get close to late last season that would be great but that doesn't seem likely and wouldn't be wise to get your hopes up for that kind of production coming from him. Just a mess....
It is not up to the Astros when his developmental stint is over. He went down voluntarily and returns when he thinks he is ready. The Astros have a decision to make after he returns, They can play him, bench him, trade or DFA him or anything in between after he is back.
I’m sure the Astros presented both options. He chose to try and do extended rehab vs. being DFA’d. He feels he’s ready now, thus he has to be put back on the team. Either it works or it doesn’t. It really doesn’t put the team in that much further a hole at this point in the season presuming their pitching continues to go the way it has. Singleton also got a chance in the mean time… and while he did better than Abreu was doing, he wasn’t exactly the answer either, so the Astros also got decent intel on that front. It won’t be hard to see if he puts together better AB’s. They were basically just throwing FB’s down the middle daring him to catch up. 30 or so AB’s ought to be enough. That’s pretty much nothing. But I am impressed with the overall energy he’s stimulated around here.
Stupid take. Thinly veiled Anti-singleton propaganda. He has done enough to keep the job at 1B for now. You don’t close the book on someone after 80 at bats as the starter.
Best case scenario. Mon 5/27: Abreu gets an "acclimation before playing" day that Espada learned from Dusty. Tuesday 5/28: Abreu starts and hits 8th. Wednesday 5/29: Abreu watches video of his game the day before and works with the coaches Thursday 5/30: Abreu starts and hits 8th
Nothing. I was just trying to be optimistic and think of a way they ONLY start Abreu twice in the series. Unfortunately I expect him to start all 4 games. I hope he gets at least a single and strikes out less than 6 times.
I was talking to someone in the Astros Analytics Dept... he implied Bagwell is in the MMP offices daily...
I wanted him DFA'd as much as the next person... but I also never expected him to accept a glorified "re-do spring training" which is somewhat unprecedented both in terms of Astros history and recent MLB history. I do think this BBS has gotten a tad obsessed... ready to blame every single negative aspect transpiring on him being back on the team. Even when the majority of the problems with this team when he was here was pitching. So unless he's somehow signaling the wrong signs to the pitchers or his presence causes their mechanics to go out of whack, I fully expect his overall negative impact to be limited to his AB's... which with any dumb luck improvement, he'll basically be another Singleton out there.
He's a long way from just dumb luck improvement being good enough. I agree pitching was a far bigger problem than him, but I think you are grossly understating how mesmerizingly awful he was. His xBA is currently .128, he hasn't had bad luck, he's completely non competitive. 339 players with 50 PA, he's dead last (with some room) in xBA xOBP and xSLG
I'm referencing that any one of us could probably close our eyes and swing at those fastballs down the middle and possibly end up with a better average. That's the dumb luck. I'm not saying he's been unlucky. He's been horrible. But even the slightest improvement, if that's within him, will not be all that different than what the Astros have been playing at 1B (which is also an indictment of Singleton). But there's a lot of presumption there. Whoever he was in October to now... if its truly that in-escapable regression... it won't take long. And then if he latches on somewhere and gets hot (doubtful), nobody can also blame this team for not somehow unlocking his true inner self (lol).
Singleton has a .340 OBP, he hasn't been terrible by any measure. He's been perfectly average...which is a massive step up. Thats not to mention Dubon versus lefties.
And Abreu had over an .800 OPS after June of last year... and was slugging over .500 in September/October. The truth is somewhere in the middle... or at the tip of Jeff Bagwell's long goatee. Maybe they got him the same untraceable PED's they gave him at the end of last year. The Astros are also only 3.5 games out. I'm of the mindset that ANYTHING they can get from him at this point will be a bonus. But if he's still unable to hit 90+ fastballs in the heart of the zone, I'm not sure what else they need to see to cut the cord.
