The Houston Astros will option veteran first baseman José Abreu to their Florida Complex League team in West Palm Beach, general manager Dana Brown told reporters, including The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Tuesday. The goal will be for Abreu to “get some at-bats and his timing back right,” Brown said. Abreu, by virtue of having more than five years of Major League Service, had the power to reject any optional assignment. Instead, he consented so that he could work on his timing in a low-stakes environment.
While sending players from the big-league roster to the complex league is rare, it does happen on occasion when the player is clearly in need of an overhaul and/or some time away from the spotlight. Just last season, the Toronto Blue Jays sent right-hander Alek Manoah to the complex league in an attempted reset.
The Astros will not demote Abreu until tomorrow. As such, they’ll play with a 25-man squad against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night. Houston did make a few other roster moves ahead of Tuesday’s contest, placing utility infielder Grae Kessinger on the injured list because of right shoulder discomfort, designating reliever Joel Kuhnel for assignment, and promoting Joey Loperfido for his big-league debut. (Loperfido posted a 1.106 OPS in 25 games at Triple-A Sugar Land.)
Abreu, 37, is off to a miserable start to the season. In 22 games, he’s batted .099/.156/.113 (-20 OPS+) with no home runs, three RBI, and 15 more strikeouts than walks. Per FanGraphs’ wRC+ measure, a statistic that accounts for ballpark and other variables, Abreu had been the least productive hitter in all the majors this season, minimum 50 trips to the plate.
Abreu, in the second of a three-year pact worth more than $58 million, is sporting would-be career-worst figures in several advanced metrics, including average and maximum exit velocity and strikeout and walk rates.
Astros first-year skipper Joe Espada had responded to Abreu’s struggles by mixing in more Jon Singleton. Alas, Singleton himself had struggled to perform up to par for a first baseman, batting .238/.319/.286 (79 OPS+) with two extra-base hits in 16 games.
The Astros are off to a dreadful start, entering play on Tuesday with a 9-19 mark that puts them 6 1/2 games back in the American League West.
