Houston Astros: Three players the team needs to avoid at the deadline
By T.A. Mock
Jose Abreu, 1B, Chicago White Sox
Jose Abreu quickly established himself as a stud after he was signed out of Cuba in 2014. For his career, prior to this season, he is slashing .301/.359/.524 with an average of 31 homers, 102 RBIs, and 82 runs a season.
He has morphed himself into a bonafide star for the White Sox. However, an established veteran star doesn’t belong on a bottom dwelling team. It would be in the White Sox interest to capitalize on Abreu’s value before he declines or becomes a rental option as he will be a free agent in 2020.
Unfortunately, Abreu has been in a bit of a slump this season. He hasn’t gotten anywhere close to being in a full decline yet but, if this continues he may start to lose value. He’s slashing .255/.318/.443 which is far below his career norm. He is also on pace to establish new lows in nearly every counting statistic.
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This slight dip in production is not anywhere close to the main reason that the Houston Astros should avoid Abreu. He is too good of a hitter to stay in a slump all season long and will surely bounce back.
Abreu is still going to cost an arm and a leg to pry him away from the White Sox. The team is intent on keeping him in spite of common logic contradicting that. He will likely take a top prospect for the White Sox to budge on this player and his couple years of service left.
The fit is also iffy at best. The Astros have fellow Cuban, Yuli Gurriel, entrenched at first base. Yuli has been great for the Houston Astros this year, especially with runners on base. The other spot Abreu could fill is DH, that fit is also rough because AJ Hinch likes to use Evan Gattis there and to also use it as a pseudo-day off for the team’s star players.