Astros confidence in Jose Abreu is dwindling by the game since MLB return

It hasn't been a pretty season for the Houston Astros.

On the heels of seven consecutive appearances in the ALCS, the Astros own a record of 31-38 and may end up being sellers at the trade deadline. And to make matters worse, they are still getting no production out of slugger Jose Abreu.

Abreu had been optioned to the Florida Complex League. He has obviously since returned, but since coming back from West Palm Beach, the slugging first baseman is hitting just .167. His average for the season has dropped to a ghastly .124.

On Twitter, Astros insider Brian LaLima pointed out just how bad things have gotten with Abreu.

Jose Abreu continues to struggle for the Astros

It hasn't been a good season for the Astros or for Abreu. In addition to his poor .124 average, Abreu has only gone deep twice and knocked in seven runs, while posting a miserable .362 OPS.

At a certain point, the Astros may need to make a change at the first base position. They've received far better production out of Jon Singleton, which is saying a lot given that the 32-year-old is hitting just .213 with an OPS of .649.

Still, his struggles pale in comparison to those of Abreu. Houston signed him to a three-year, $36 million contract after winning the 2022 World Series, but he has not performed up to expectations. He hit only .237 last year and has regressed even further in 2024.

If the Astros are going to turn their season around, they'll either need Abreu to start hitting or to make Singleton the full-time first baseman and cut ties with Abreu entirely. The Astros need to fix things quickly and having Abreu struggle like this isn't helping matters.

It will be interesting to see if the Astros decide to change things up and pull the plug on Abreu while they're still afloat in the standings. If the results don't change, they'll need to hand the reins over to Singleton or somebody else entirely.