Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that Abreu is not with the MLB club and will be optioned to the Astros' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Wednesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The 37-year-old has struggled to a .099/.156/.113 slash line in 77 plate appearances through the first month of the season, so he'll voluntarily head to Houston's FCL affiliate in an attempt to "get some at-bats and his timing back right," per Brown. It will be the first time in the minors for Abreu, as he immediately joined the White Sox after coming up from Cuba in 2014 and has never had a minor-league rehab assignment.
Abreu is likely to lose playing time due to the promotion of Joey Loperfido, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Abreu has had a rocky tenure with the Astros overall, and he's hitting a dreadful .099 across 77 plate appearances with a .269 OPS this season. The Astros have publicly remained hopeful that he can turn things around, though he's started only three of the team's last six games. Abreu's share of playing time is likely to only dip further, but his spot on the roster is most likely safe as he is signed through 2025 and is owed roughly $39 million for the remainder of the deal.
Abreu is starting at first base and batting eighth in Saturday's contest against the Rockies in Mexico City.
Abreu has ceded the starting first base job to Jon Singleton as of late, with the former going 1-for-21 over his last seven games. Abreu will hope to turn around his poor start to the season Saturday against Rockies right-hander Cal Quantrill.
Abreu is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
Abreu is on the bench for the third time in four games, with Jon Singleton getting the nod at first base in his place. It's clear at this point that Abreu's standing atop the depth chart is on thin ice, as the 37-year-old has followed up a disappointing 2023 campaign with an even more disastrous start to the 2024 season, as he's slashing .065/.132/.081 with a career-worst 25 percent strikeout rate across 68 plate appearances. First base/outfield prospect Joey Loperfido has gotten off to a hot start to the season at Triple-A Sugar Land and could soon be summoned to the big leagues if the Astros aren't confident in Abreu's ability to stage a turnaround and/or if Singleton proves to be a poor replacement for Abreu.
Abreu is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Abreu is on the bench for the second time in three days after an 0-for-3 showing in Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Cubs dropped his season-long slash line to .065/.132/.081 over 68 plate appearances. Though Jon Singleton will pick up another start at Abreu's expense, prospect Joey Loperfido looks to be the longer-term replacement at first base if the Astros elect to move on from the struggling Abreu at any point. An outfielder for most of his minor-league career, Loperfido has made five starts at first base for Triple-A Sugar Land so far this season and has posted a 1.028 OPS over 20 games to put himself on the radar for a promotion.
