Jose Abreu released by Astros

HOUSTON — In what Astros manager Joe Espada described as a “very tough day,” the Astros made a decision Friday that was inevitable. The club released veteran first baseman José Abreu not even halfway through the three-year, $58.5 million contract he signed with Houston in November 2022.

That means the Astros will have to pay the remaining $30 million of Abreu’s contract, but his presence in the lineup was a growing problem, especially for a team that started eight games in the American League West on Friday. and six games in the AL Wild. Card race. Abreu, 37, had a .362 OPS with two home runs in 35 games with the Astros.

“It wasn’t an easy conversation,” said Espada, who was part of a contingent that traveled to Abreu’s Florida home to help lure him to Houston a year ago and half. “What Jose Abreu meant to this organization helped us get to another championship series last year. What he did in this match was not easy.

Astros general manager Dana Brown, who was hired after Abreu signed, said he and Espada met with Abreu Friday afternoon to tell him the news.

“We’ve talked about it over the last week,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, Abreu is an exceptional human being. He had an exceptional career. We tried different things to get him going, like knocking him down. As we discussed the process this week, we felt it was time to make a change.

Espada and Brown said Jon Singleton and utility player Mauricio Dubón will be in the mix at first base, with Singleton likely starting against righties and Dubón likely against lefties, like Friday, when Dubón was at first base against Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal.

“Right now, it’s just time to move on and we have guys here to take that spot, and we need those guys to step up and produce for our lineup,” Espada said.

Abreu was an extremely popular player in the Houston clubhouse. When he signed with the Astros, Abreu joked that most of his new teammates’ numbers were already stored in his phone.

“It’s devastating,” Dubón said. “He’s a good clubhouse guy. Obviously he seems quiet (in the media), but he speaks very clearly in team meetings, giving advice and giving his time to the young players and his vision of the game. … Watching him go, it’s is a one-two punch for the clubhouse.

Abreu was so invested in trying to turn around his season that he agreed to be optioned to the minor leagues in early May after a dismal start in which he slashed .099/.156/.113 in 22 games. He reported to the team’s facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., and trained for a few weeks before becoming a member of the Florida Complex League and playing two games at Triple-A Sugar Land.

The Astros hoped that Abreu’s adjustments to his swing would change his season, but that didn’t happen. He slashed .167/.186/.333 with two homers in 13 games after joining the Astros on May 27. Abreu was 0 for 7 in two games against the Giants this week, and with the Astros sliding in the AL West standings, they couldn’t afford to continue playing him.

“He understood what his struggles were,” Brown said. “He struggled a lot and was trying to get through it. That’s one of the reasons he allowed us to send it for three weeks. It was a difficult thing for him. I thought he handled the situation well. We tried everything. It wasn’t about him not pushing himself.

Abreu joined an Astros team that was coming off a World Series championship and replaced the popular Yuli Gurriel at first base. The signing seemed like a perfect fit considering the Astros were a veteran team with high expectations, and Abreu was two years away from winning the 2020 AL Most Valuable Player award.

Instead, Abreu experienced a stunning offensive decline throughout his time in Houston, although he got hot last September and during a playoff run that ended in a loss in the seventh game against the Rangers in the ALCS. In 176 games for the Astros, he hit .217 with 20 home runs and a .625 OPS.

“We got to the point where this is the direction we needed to go,” Espada said.