The 2022 World Series champions didn’t take long to improve their 2023 squad.
The Houston Astros made a big splash to improve their lineup with the signing of veteran first baseman José Abreu, according to several MLB insiders on Monday.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report that a three-year contract was being finalized, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported two minutes later that the two sides agreed to a deal.
Jose Abreu is expected to receive a 3-year contract from the #Astros once finalized.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 28, 2022
The Astros and Jose Abreu are in agreement on a contract. @BNightengale 1st
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 28, 2022
Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle report that the deal is expected to be around $60 million total, or $20 million per year.
Abreu Astros deal expected to be 3 years, about $20M per @Chandler_Rome on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 28, 2022
Hearing the Astros' deal with José Abreu is expected to be around $60 million.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 28, 2022
It’s notable that the contract is for three years; most baseball evaluators expected no more than two years on a deal for Abreu, who turns 36 in January. But perhaps the Astros needed to go three years to get the deal done, or maybe this allowed them to get a lower Average Annual Value (AAV) that they preferred. However, the $20 million/per is also a higher number than many evaluators anticipated, so that’s interesting too.
While it’s anyone’s guess what Abreu is three years from now, the three-time All-Star is a great bet to be an excellent hitter in 2023, at least.
Abreu put together a .304/.378/.446 slash line with 15 home runs and a 137 wRC+ over 679 plate appearances in 2022 for the Chicago White Sox. He was valued at 4.2 wins above replacement (WAR) per Baseball Reference.
Additionally, Abreu’s Statcast batted ball data suggest that his numbers should’ve been even better, and there’s probably more home run power in the tank. In 2021, he hit 30 home runs.
Jose Abreu in 2022. Yeah, that will do. pic.twitter.com/IHNLWiGfRh
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) November 28, 2022
Last year, only 10 qualified hitters averaged a harder exit velocity than José Abreu’s 92.2 mph. Of those 10, only two had higher batting averages: Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 28, 2022
Highest hard-hit rate, 2022 (min 350 batted balls):
Aaron Judge: 61.8%
Yordan Alvarez: 59.8%
Kyle Schwarber: 54.4%
José Abreu: 51.8%why we care: MLB BA/SLG on hard-hit batted balls in 2022 = .488/.954
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) November 28, 2022
And in the shortened 2020 season, Abreu was the American League MVP. He had a ridiculous slash line of .317/.370/.617 with 19 home runs over just 262 plate appearances.
Abreu brings a rare blend in today’s game of power, contact (struck out 16.2% of the time in 2022; league average was 22.4%), and on-base skills (he walked 9.1% of the time in 2022). He’s the classic “professional hitter” that has plenty of power to go with it.
José Abreu has a career 19.8 percent strikeout rate and 76.7 percent contact rate. For an offense predicated upon putting the ball in play and swinging at strikes, he is an ideal fit.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) November 28, 2022
So, adding that kind of bat to the World Series champions is a scary thought for the rest of the league.
Here’s a look at how the baseball world is reacting to the Astros signing Abreu:
I assume it was not a hard decision for soon-to-be 36-year-old José Abreu to take $20 million per year from the defending World Series champions.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) November 28, 2022
Jose Abreu is so consistent and durable. Since coming to MLB in 2014, he's had 550+ PAs in every full season, and he was 60-for-60 in 2020 games.
Lowest OPS/OPS+ of any season was .798/117.
Three-time All-Star, six Top-20 MVP finishes, including a win in 2020.
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) November 28, 2022
Most RBI in American League
…since 2014: Jose Abreu (863)
…since 2015: Jose Abreu (756)
…since 2016: Jose Abreu (655)
…since 2017: Jose Abreu (555)
…since 2018: Jose Ramirez (463, Abreu 2nd)
…since 2019: Jose Abreu (375)
…since 2020: Jose Ramirez (275, Abreu 2nd) pic.twitter.com/Qw2lYBuxBz
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) November 28, 2022
Jose Abreu has missed just 18 games over the last four seasons. He turns 36 in January but Abreu has posted a higher OPS+ in 2021 and 2022 than he did in 2018 and 2019
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) November 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/PlayoffTanaka_/status/1597307176758181894
White Sox open the season in Houston so you can make the trip to see Jose Abreu in person while the Astros get their rings.
His return to Chicago is May 12th where he’ll get an amazing and deserved tribute and ovation.
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) November 28, 2022
I'm really going to miss being able to watch and appreciate Jose Abreu daily. A truly great hitter, not just a slugger, who rose to big moments, and worked tirelessly on every aspect of his game for all of his seasons in Chicago.
— M@ (@MattSpiegel670) November 28, 2022
Jose Abreu is one of the all time greatest Chicago White Sox players.
I wish him nothing but success in his next chapter with the Houston Astros.
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) November 28, 2022