Astros fans in shambles over Guardians writer's old Jose Abreu free agency tweet

One of the more consequential signings the Houston Astros have made in recent years is when they decided to give Jose Abreu a three-year, $58.5 million deal before the 2023 season. Unfortunately, it has been consequential for all of the wrong reasons.

Instead of being the perennial middle-of-the-order power threat and MVP candidate like he was in Chicago, Abreu has struggled with injuries and a bad case of "old" en route to a .221/.280/.352 line during his time with the Astros, including a truly horrifying start to the 2024 season.

Part of the problem with Abreu isn't with his production, but with his payroll hit. Houston isn't as cheap as some would lead you to believe, but they do operate with payroll constraints, and the $19.5 million the Astros are paying him each year is an albatross around their neck given that they have other needs (like the pitching staff) on the roster where that money would be better spent.

The Astros were almost able to avoid this whole fiasco, unfortunately, as the Guardians of all teams nearly scooped Abreu up after the the 2022 season if Cleveland beat writer Paul Hoynes' tweet and report from that November is to be believed.

Astros fans are wishing right now that Abreu had landed with Guardians

It is honestly a little weird that Cleveland was even in the running for Abreu. While they could have certainly used a power bat at any point over the last decade, Cleveland is notoriously cheap and the fact that there was even a notable offer on the table from them for Abreu is pretty surprising. We don't know the AAV the Guardians presented, but the Astros won the bidding for worse or for worse.

So, instead of the Guardians signing Abreu and yelling in the backrooms "See! This is why we don't pay guys!" while gesturing wildly at Abreu's lack of production, Houston appears to be stuck with him. With Joey Loperfido's impending promotion is likely to at least threaten Abreu's playing time, fans have to just wonder what might have been if the Guardians had landed Abreu and the Astros had been able to invest that money elsewhere.

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