I don’t think they do anything with Abreu until he gets to 150 pa, maybe even 200, and 400 wouldn’t shock me (which would take them up to the trade deadline). Can’t bench him and there’s too much money involved not to be absolutely sure he’s unsalvagable. It would not surprise me if the FO and coaches were trying to convince Abreu he’s injured so that they can put him on the IL to reset while they make a final assessment of Singleton. I think Singleton’s situation is more tenuous as long as Abreu is on the active roster. He’s not going to get regular time so the analytics aren’t going to change much. I think his fate will be determined by what other people do. If a prospect shows ready or they find a good option on the trade market or in free agency, they’ll probably dump him. But succeeding as a pinch hitter who plays 1B a couple games a week is very hard to do and there’s a lot of luck involved. If the playoffs started today and Houston was playing, I would want Cabbage and Hensley serving as a platoon over Singleton/Abreu and over Loperfido. Not ideal but those two guys have defensive versatility and both are putting out solid balanced offensive production in AAA right now.
While I get that line of thinking, if we keep losing, there will be a point where the 2024 season itself is unsalvageable. Abreu isnt the sole reason we are losing, but its clear he isnt helping us win either.
This is a good point. If Houston’s record gets to the point where they are looking unlikely to make the playoffs (they are down to about 70% chance as of now), then I would imagine Abreu would be gone regardless of how many pa he has logged.
It's scary that he can't even touch 95> so far this season. That would seem suggestive more of a physical issue than a mechanical one (not one driven by an underlying physical issue anyway).
Abreu is at what 683 PAs over 2023 RS, PS, and 2024 RS to date with an wRC+ of 85. I expect he'll have good spurts like he did in the 2023 playoffs, but when those occur will likely be few and far between. I'm just skeptical that old guys that have been banged up a lot lately will have a sustained run of prestine health.
I am skeptical as well; I think he’s toast. But there’s logic behind dismissing much of his 2023 sample due to his injuries. Although as some point the fact that Abreu doesn’t report when he’s hurt should be factored into whether or not to move on. If I were the GM I would be trying to get him on the IL, and if he refused, I’d tell him he has until ~5/10 to show he’s gotten back on track.
Ok so: Verlander 4/19 (Arrighetti sent down) Urquidy 5/10 (to the pen, Mushinski sent down) Framber 5/17 (6 man rotation, Scott sent down) Garcia 7/31 (to the pen, Martinez sent down) McCullers 8/24 (to the pen, Bielak DFA)
You'd think Abreu would just cheat for the fast ball and try to get out in front of it and hope to run into one every now and then sort of like Pujols did the last few years.
Or Biggio when he yanked fastballs he ambushed to the Crawford boxes and swung over the top of every slider in the dirt.
Astros executive Reggie Jackson explains why Houston didn't sign Blake Snell: 'We don't play that game' "He signed a two-year deal, I want to say for $62 [million]. That's too much for him," Jackson said during an appearance on "The Show" podcast, hosted by New York Post reporters Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. "He's been hurt a couple of times. And I think there's incentives on top of that. He's also got an option on his own. And between the four or five people that make the decisions with the Astros, we don't play that game."
Some low cost moves: Julio Teheran: can fill in as starter short term and move to long relief if he shows anything. Had a 4.40 era with Milwaukee last year. Mets gave up on him after 1 game this year. Better than throwing kids into the fire. Joey Gallo: if you're going to run out Abreu hitting under .100, might as well have Gallo with power and walks. Plug him in at the 8 hole to cleanup anyone left on. Maybe play Abreu against lefties where he showed more power last year. I don't think we have the salary or prospects to do much better than that.
Sure sounds like Houston has a President of Baseball Operations by committee with a bunch of people not qualified for the role. Hopefully Jackson’s portrayal of how things are done is way off but it sure makes the Montero, Abreu, and Hader deals make a lot more sense. And if that’s the case then Dana Brown is really just a scouting director.
I used to laugh so hard at the Cowboys because they have their owner who thinks he is a good GM running things the last 30 years. Now, the Astros have the same thing. With every passing month, I feel they slide farther and farther away from what made this dynasty possible. It's like a slow motion wreck occurring over the course of several years and Crane, like Jerry Jones, is somehow not seeing it when everyone else easily diagnoses the problem from afar.
I think the results were inevitable even if the methods weren't. If Brown can replenish the farm then all is OK despite owner/fan's committee. Part of the reason Abreu and Montero were signed was because Click was the GM ( when the initial research/decisions made) and he didn't have experience/expertise is FA. Identifying/developing young talent, especially pitching was his Forte. Another part was the lack of tradeable talent in the system. Prior to then they would trade for a difference maker on a short commitment or affordable terms rather than delving into FA. The Astros can return to having 3+ top 100 prospects and 8+ top 250 prospects then FA is much less of an issue
