Jose Abreu in Houston thread

[Dragonmount]

5 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

I was hoping NL. This isn't good for the White Sox chances. The Astros and Cubs windows opened at the same time. Will the Astros window ever close?

The Cubs sold out their talent in the minors to win in a smaller window. Astros just keep getting better

[Chicago White Sox]

6 minutes ago, CWSpalehoseCWS said:

I don’t know how anyone could be with that drop off in the power department. If he fails to top 20 HR’s, I’d be really concerned as an Astros fan. His slugging was barely over .400 for Aug/Sept/Oct.

Yup, his ISO was .099 after August 1st and his wRC+ during this stretch was definitely propped up by an abnormally high BABIP.  Could just be a rough stretch power wise, but I’m not sure I’d be overly excited committing to him for the next three years during his age 37 to 39 seasons.

[pcq]

I am not sure what to expect from Vaughn or if it will compare to Abreu. Jose seemed like one of the more dedicated players. I am also tired of hearing excuses for Vaugun.  Maybe Colas will liven things up when he arrives. 

[quickman]

11 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Yup, his ISO was .099 after August 1st and his wRC+ during this stretch was definitely propped up by an abnormally high BABIP.  Could just be a rough stretch power wise, but I’m not sure I’d be overly excited committing to him for the next three years during his age 37 to 39 seasons.

Could also be a shitty hitting coach. I will miss abreu digging all crap throws of the great Moncada think about those errors next year. He will be missed as a leader and a guy that plays everyday, unlike the rest of this core.

[pcq]

3 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

The biggest thing is - he can really focus on developing his bat and just refining himself at 1B. Trying to spend an off-season learning a new position was not easy and likely took a toll on other avenues of his development.  With that said - I would imagine in the long run it will make him a better, more dynamic fielder at 1B (and if nothing else increases some of his positional flexibility in the long run).

With that said - the Sox having Vaughn / Jimenez primarily at 1B/DH and replacing the two of them (+ Sheets) with average (better yet good) defenders - will in my opinion have a more significant impact than we think.  Having that many innings played in LF / RF by Sheets/Vaughn/Eloy who are literally 3 of the 10 worst defensive outfielders in baseball is just malpractice - especially when you have a strong rotation (if you are going to win with strong pitching - make sure you surround them with some defense).  

Now to hope that we see some legit moves that show they are going to add quality defenders to the outfield (ideally who are decent enough hitters to boot).  

Two of the worst things about the Sox are one that they have a collection of DHs but a mediocre offense and two that their home park favors the visitors most of the time. These are very bad things. 

[joejoesox]

5 hours ago, RibbieRubarb said:

They drafted a first baseman in the first round....so yeah.

my point being it didn't matter how he produced, they were gonna let him play regardless of whether he busts out or not

what's his projected fWAR for 2023? ?

[joejoesox]

6 minutes ago, pcq said:

Two of the worst things about the Sox are one that they have a collection of DHs but a mediocre offense and two that their home park favors the visitors most of the time. These are very bad things. 

and they just let their best DH walk

[Timmy U]

28 minutes ago, Dragonmount said:

The Cubs sold out their talent in the minors to win in a smaller window. Astros just keep getting better

One huge difference: Yordan Alvarez.  Cubs didn't add significantly during their run. Alvarez came up as an unheralded youngster and is now set to compete for MVPs

[Ducksnort]

6 minutes ago, joejoesox said:

and they just let their best DH walk

If and when Eloy is healthy (I know that's something you can't count on), he's a better power hitter than Abreu. Which is what the DH position needs to be. But...you can't count on Eloy's health.

[CentralChamps21]

5 minutes ago, ScooterMcGuire said:

If and when Eloy is healthy (I know that's something you can't count on), he's a better power hitter than Abreu. Which is what the DH position needs to be. But...you can't count on Eloy's health.

If Eloy is going to be playing more DH and less LF, that should help his health.

[wegner]

15 minutes ago, ScooterMcGuire said:

If and when Eloy is healthy (I know that's something you can't count on), he's a better power hitter than Abreu. Which is what the DH position needs to be. But...you can't count on Eloy's health.

Hopefully a new batting coach unleashes more of that beautiful easy power that Eloy has shown.

[The Beast]

6 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Yikes.  Losing Abreu is an enormous step backwards.

 

6 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Ugh, we are going to regret this.

And yet the consensus here was to let Abreu walk. Nobody seemed to care about the consequences.

30 minutes ago, quickman said:

Could also be a shitty hitting coach. I will miss abreu digging all crap throws of the great Moncada think about those errors next year. He will be missed as a leader and a guy that plays everyday, unlike the rest of this core.

I will miss guys that actually play a full season. And I still think they are going to miss his production even at what Houston signed him. I am sure someone will come back and show me the analytics, but I think his power numbers will recover and the Sox will regret not bringing him back UNLESS they made the necessary moves to improve the roster.

[Highland]

57 minutes ago, Stinky Stanky said:

He hit a lot of singles to the right of second base in 2022.  Is his bat quick enough to take advantage of that short left field?  Our own left field isn't Yankee Stadium either.

You may have a point. He went six weeks without hitting a homer. There is no way I would have ever re-signed him. They didn't draft Vaughn so high so play him out of position.

[Snopek]

30 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

One huge difference: Yordan Alvarez.  Cubs didn't add significantly during their run. Alvarez came up as an unheralded youngster and is now set to compete for MVPs

Another huge difference is Houston’s ability to develop SP. The Cubs had to use a lot of their resources to buy pitching.

[Ducksnort]

27 minutes ago, Highland said:

You may have a point. He went six weeks without hitting a homer. There is no way I would have ever re-signed him. They didn't draft Vaughn so high so play him out of position.

If Vaughn worked out in RF I bet they would have resigned Abreu.

Turns out a first baseman can't play the outfield full time.

Edited November 29, 2022 by ScooterMcGuire

[Tnetennba]

Mixed emotions on this one.  Sad to see Pito go.  It is hard to move on from fan favourites.  It hurts to see him go to the trash Astros, but he finally has a chance to win.  The Sox not being able to win with him is just another indictment of the JR era.  The roster being such a mess that it was better to let him walk is another.  

Thank you for the memories Pito, this s%*# org didn’t deserve the likes of you. 

[ShoeLessRob]

Smart team woulda traded him at the deadline last season when everyone and their grandma knew the team was a pretender and not a contender. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by ShoeLessRob

[Tnetennba]

5 minutes ago, ShoeLessRob said:

Smart team woulda traded him at the deadline last season when everyone and their grandma knew the team was a pretender and not a contender. 

Or, better balanced the roster so it made sense to keep him. 

[Balta1701]

1 minute ago, Tnetennba said:

Or, better balanced the roster so it made sense to keep him. 

You’re gonna love Joe Kelly.

[Texsox]

7 minutes ago, ShoeLessRob said:

Smart team woulda traded him at the deadline last season when everyone and their grandma knew the team was a pretender and not a contender. 

As a GM how much would you have given up to get him for a couple months? 

[Balta1701]

1 minute ago, Texsox said:

As a GM how much would you have given up to get him for a couple months? 

Roughly the Yankees ninth and twelfth ranked prospects.

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/mlb-trade-deadline-cubs-trade-anthony-rizzo-yankees?amp

[Tnetennba]

3 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

You’re gonna love Joe Kelly.

Oh I do.  I really really do.  He’ll be my favorite punching bag when the Sox flop once again.

[ShoeLessRob]

35 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

Or, better balanced the roster so it made sense to keep him. 

They fucked that up years prior. 

[ShoeLessRob]

32 minutes ago, Texsox said:

As a GM how much would you have given up to get him for a couple months? 

I would have accepted anything considering we got nothing for letting him walk. 

[chw42]

2 hours ago, Highland said:

You may have a point. He went six weeks without hitting a homer. There is no way I would have ever re-signed him. They didn't draft Vaughn so high so play him out of position.

Jose usually finishes the year strong, but he was basically a singles hitter last year down the stretch. There are some bad signs, but I think a change of scenery and Houston having better coaches and analytics will help him decline more gracefully.