Predicting the Astros Opening Day Roster: Infield Edition

Houston Astros v St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros v St. Louis Cardinals / Megan Briggs/GettyImages
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Jose Abreu
Houston Astros Photo Day / Rob Carr/GettyImages

First Base: José Abreu

José Abreu is possibly the most slept on signing of the offseason. The reigning champs went from a -0.3 bWAR at first base to a 4.2 bWAR and seemingly nobody noticed. At 36, Abreu may not hit 35+ home runs again in his career, though the Crawford Boxes are enticing, but he just hit 40 doubles last season, the second highest mark of his career. 

Baseball Reference projects 20 home runs and 31 doubles for Abreu with a clean .800 OPS. Seeing as Houston got a combined .236 average and .656 OPS from their first basemen last year, this is a massive upgrade to their lineup.