Astros sign Jose Abreu to reported 3-year, $58.5M deal

The defending World Series champion Houston Astros signed free-agent first baseman Jose Abreu, the club announced Monday.

The three-year deal is expected to pay Abreu $19.5 million per season, reports Fox 26's Mark Berman.

Abreu, 35, spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Chicago White Sox, winning the American League MVP in 2020.

The three-time All-Star will provide the Astros with a much-needed boost at first base. Houston's first basemen finished 29th in fWAR (minus-1.4) and bottom in home runs (10) last season.

Free agent Yuli Gurriel started 142 games at first base for the Astros last season, struggling to a .647 OPS with eight home runs.

Abreu put together another strong season at the plate for the White Sox in 2022. The three-time Silver Slugger slashed .304/.378/.446 with 15 home runs, 85 runs scored, and 75 RBIs, and he accumulated 3.9 fWAR across 157 games.

The veteran slugger is a lifetime .292/.354/.506 hitter with 243 home runs, 697 runs scored, and 863 RBIs in 1,270 career games.