Veteran first baseman has signed on with los Senadores de San Juan to play in the Puerto Rican Winter League this offseason as he gears up for a hopeful big league return in 2025, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The 2024 season was an abject nightmare for Abreu, whose struggles with the Astros led to him getting at one point and midway through Matt Moore Jersey the second season of a three-year, $58.5MM free agent deal that stands as a colo sal mi step for the Astros (who were operating without a general manager at the time of the deal, leaving owner Jim Crane to oversee baseball operations decisions). Abreu hit just .237/.296/.383 in year one of the contract but still popped 18 homers and enjoyed a strong finish that created some cautious optimism about the current season. Any such hopes of a rebound quickly faded, however, when Abreu tanked with a calamitous .124/.167/.195 batting line in 120 plate appearances prior to his release. It was an unfathomable decline for a former AL MVP who was a consistent force in the middle of the White Sox lineup for nine years prior to signing in Houston. Even detractors who pointed to red flags in his batted-ball profile and declining power in his final year with Chicago couldnt have reasonably predicted a drop-off of such extreme magnitude. With that type of production (or lack thereof) in the immediate rearview mirror and Abreus 38th birthday looming in January, the odds of a resurgence feel fairly slim. That said, Abreu is still locked into the third year of that Astros contract, meaning any team can sign him and owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. For a player with Abreus track record of thunderous production to say nothing of his frequently cited leadership traits and clubhouse value taking what amounts to a free look could hold appeal to a number of clubs. That could be especially true for payroll-conscious clubs with younger in-house options who could grow into a more prominent role but are as of yet unproven. Only time will tell whether he shows enough in winter ball to get that opportunity, but his production will be worth tracking; the Puerto Rican Winter League kicks off in November. Matt Thaiss Jersey