Astros fans are seeing shades of past bullpen disaster in Bryan Abreu

To the shock of basically everyone, Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu has been genuinely terrible in 2026. When Josh Hader went down with an injury, most Astros fans felt that the bullpen wouldn't skip a beat in the ninth, given how good Abreu had been previously. Instead, Abreu's 2026 thus far has felt like someone throwing them a life jacket filled with lead.

Right now, Abreu is down across the board. Not only does he own a 12.54 ERA through 11 appearances, but Abreu's pitch metrics look terrible with his chase rate, walk rate, and hard hit % all ranking at the absolute bottom of the league. It is going to take more than a small adjustment to fix all of them.

Unfortunately, this is a tale that is very familiar to Astros fans. It was not that long ago that one Rafael Montero was coming off a successful stint in Houston's bullpen, only to turn into a pumpkin right in front of their eyes.

Astros may have avoided another Rafael Montero-type mistake with Bryan Abreu

It was a simpler time back in 2022. The Astros had just beaten the Phillies in the World Series, and the good times were rolling along. However, conflict between owner Jim Crane and then-general manager James Click ended with the latter getting pushed out. Crane took over baseball decisions for a bit before hiring Dana Brown to replace Click. During Crane's tenure in charge, the team gave Montero a three-year, $34.5 million extension after he posted a 2.37 ERA across 71 appearances in 2022.

We know the rest of the story. Montero would reward Houston's faith with an ERA close to 5 over the next two seasons before finally cutting bait and trading him to the Braves last season. In terms of contract blunders, Montero's deal ranks high in franchise history.

While Abreu's downfall does remind fans of what happened with Montero, it also shows that the Astros may have learned something from their experience. There have been calls to extend Abreu for a while now, and, given his performance over the last four seasons, there was a strong argument for doing so. Whether the Astros knew something the rest of us didn't or the two sides couldn't match up on an amount, not giving Abreu an extension is looking pretty smart now.

What happens next could be interesting. Montero lasted on the Astros' roster longer than he should have because of the money he was owed, and that is not something Houston has to really consider with Abreu. His sudden drop-off also begs the question as to whether or not Abreu is hurt. Whatever the case may be, Abreu has very quickly gone from extension candidate to a guy that might not even last the season with the Astros.

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