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When the Houston Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million contract in November 2022, they were expecting him to bring some big-time pop to their lineup. Needless to say, that has not happened.

After a miserable debut campaign in 2023, Abreu has been even worse in 2024. The veteran has been so bad, as a matter of fact, that the Astros sent him down to the minor leagues late last month with the hope that he would be able to work through his problems.

But when will Abreu return?

Houston manager Joe Espada was asked about his slugger’s status on Thursday, and he was very diplomatic in his response.

Espada said that Abreu is currently only taking live batting practice and is not actually playing in any games. He then declined to give a timetable for Abreu’s return when asked if the first baseman would be returning sometime this month, via Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

Abreu is most known for his nine-year tenure with the Chicago White Sox between 2014 and 2022. Throughout that time, Abreu was a lethal hitter, making three All-Star appearances. In his final season with the White Sox, he slashed .304/.378/.446 with 15 home runs, 40 doubles and 75 RBI.

The 37-year-old landed his lucrative multi-year deal with the Astros that ensuing offseason, and since then, he has looked like an entirely different player.

In his debut campaign in the Lone Star State last season, Abreu slashed just .237/.296/.383 with 18 long balls and 90 RBI across 594 plate appearances. Oddly enough, his home runs were up from the year prior, but his doubles were nearly cut in half. His hard hit percentage plummeted from 37.2 percent in 2022 to just 28.6 percent, and his exit velocity dipped from 92.2 mph to 89 mph.

But maybe that was just an off year for Abreu. Perhaps he would bounce back in 2024. After all, he couldn’t possibly be any worse than he was in 2023, right?

Wrong.

Through 22 games thus far this season, the Cuban native has registered a paltry slash line of .099/.156/.113 with no homers and three RBI across 77 plate appearances. His hard hit percentage has fallen even further to 20.4 percent. His line drive percentage has flatlined at 9.3 percent, over 11 percentage points below his career average. He has also struck out 18 times while walking just thrice.

It’s hard to fathom exactly what has happened to Abreu, who won an AL MVP award as recently as 2020 when he rattled off a .987 OPS in the pandemic-shortened campaign. He boasts a lifetime slash line of .284/.346/.489. He has OPSed over .900 three times, has hit 30 or more home runs on five separate occasions and has led the American League in RBI twice. He actually led all of baseball in RBI in 2020.

Perhaps the writing was on the wall when Abreu’s power appeared to be diminishing in 2022. However, in spite of the lack of long balls that season, he was still racking up extra base hits, and he was getting on base regularly.

Now, Abreu can’t buy a hit. Or a walk. Really, he hasn’t been able to do much of anything positive, and considering that he has never been regarded for his glove, he has essentially been rendered entirely ineffective as a player.

Hopefully, Abreu can return at some point this season and flip the switch. But right now, it’s looking like the three-time Silver Slugger is sadly cooked.