On Monday, it was made public that slugging first baseman José Abreu had agreed to a three-year contract with the Houston Astros.
Abreu, who turns 36 in January, is second in baseball with 863 RBIs since his first season in the major leagues, in 2014, and won the American League MVP award in 2020. This year, he had nine big league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he had defected from Cuba. He hit .304/.378/.446.
Despite having a terrible first five weeks, Abreu was one of baseball’s best hitters over the final three-quarters of the season, batting.335/.405/.479, despite having a career-low 15 home runs. Along with fellow Cuban Yordan lvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, and World Series MVP Jeremy Pea, he makes his Astros debut.
Longtime rival Yuli Gurriel will be replaced in the Cuban National Series by Abreu. Yoenis Cespedes, Abreu, and Gurriel, both high-contact hitters, were widely regarded as the best Cuban players of their generation; Abreu’s power was what set him apart.
“I have the utmost respect for Yuli,” Abreu said Tuesday. “I’m just very grateful, and I understand that this is part of the business, and hopefully he’s able to stay in the major leagues.”
After 2019, when he topped the AL with 123 RBIs, the White Sox offered him a three-year, $50 million contract. Abreu hit.292/.354/.506 over his nine seasons, hitting 243 home runs and having an adjusted OPS that was 34% higher than the league average.
“José Abreu deservedly belongs among the roster of White Sox franchise all-time greats,” White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement Tuesday. “His determination and commitment to the game each and every day made him the consummate professional, always leading by example.”
Abreu is the Astros’ second winter signing after acquiring reliever Rafael Montero for $34.5 million over three years. The Astros’ projected finance is right now in the $175 million territory – – they’ve surpassed $187 million every one of the past five seasons – – they actually desire to sign ace Justin Verlander, who could order up to $40 million per year.
