It seems like Jose Abreu was destined to play for the Houston Astros one day.
In 2019, he bought several Astros players a traditional Cuban breakfast before a series between Houston and the Chicago White Sox, his former team.
Yuli Gurriel and Aledmys Diaz, fellow Cubans, played for the Astros for years, and could potentially return if the organization so desires.
Yordan Alvarez, perhaps the Astros’ best hitter at this point, is also Cuban like Abreu.
But beyond nationalities, Abreu does seem to enjoy being an Astro.
He has been with the team for a couple of days, but he already has most of the phone numbers of his fellow players and has likely talked to a few of them.
“Jim Crane: ‘José pulled out his phone last night and had phone numbers of the entire team,’” Astros insider Brian McTaggart tweeted.
Jim Crane: “José pulled out his phone last night and had phone numbers of the entire team.”
—Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) November 29, 2022
Abreu Still Has A Lot To Contribute
Abreu was introduced as an Astros player on Tuesday, a day after agreeing to a three-year deal worth something in the neighborhood of $60 million.
The 35-year-old slugger hit 15 home runs last year after routinely surpassing 30 every year, but he also had 40 doubles, a .304 batting average, and a .824 OPS.
Those marks indicate he still has plenty of thump left in his right-handed bat and should help the Astros immensely.
At this point, he is looking a lot like Michael Brantley: a high-contact bat with modest home run power, but the ability to drive in runs and hit several extra-base hits anyway.
Abreu is expected to man first base, Gurriel’s former position, but the latter could still return in a utility role.
Will the Astros reunite the two friends?
