Astros recall troubled first baseman Jose Abreu

Jose Abreu is returning to the majors after the Houston Astros recalled the troubled first baseman ahead of Monday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners.

Right-hander Cristian Javier (forearm) was placed on the 15-day injured list as part of the club’s other moves.

Abreu hit just .099 (7-for-71) with just one extra-base hit and 18 strikeouts in 22 games before Houston demoted him to the club’s spring training site in West Palm Beach, IN. Florida, May 1st. was traded to Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday and went 0 for 7 with three strikeouts in two games.

Abreu will play first base and bat eight on Monday.

Abreu, 37, hit .237 with 18 homers and 90 RBIs in 141 games for Houston last season in his first campaign with the club.

Abreu spent nine seasons with the Chicago White Sox and was the American League MVP in 2020. He has 261 home runs, 956 RBIs and a .284 average in 1,433 career games.

The decision involving Javier was retroactive to Friday. The 27-year-old was scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against Seattle, but was unable to participate in his scheduled bullpen session Sunday due to discomfort.

Javier, who is 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts this season, experienced a reduction in velocity in his last outing. He received no decisions while allowing four runs and eight hits in four innings against the Los Angeles Angels.

Javier was the starting pitcher when the Astros pitched the second no-hitter in World Series history. Javier pitched the first six innings of the 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the 2022 Fall Classic.

Javier also worked seven innings in a combined regular-season no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 2022. He struck out 13 batters before exiting.

Houston also recalled right-hander Alex Speas from Sugar Land. On Sunday, Houston selected infielder/flyer Joey Loperfido to the same affiliate.