Astros have an end date in mind for Jose Abreu experiment if former MVP doesn't get going

UPDATE (2:35 p.m. ET): The Houston Astros released Jose Abreu from his contract on Friday. The Astros now owe Abreu the remaining $30 million left on his deal.

The original story can be read below.

Jose Abreu was once one of the biggest power threats in the entire league. He spent the better part of nine years terrorizing pitchers while a member of the Chicago White Sox. In his nine seasons in the Windy City, Abreu totaled 243 home runs and 303 doubles while hitting nearly .300. It was truly a spectacular run.

So when Abreu signed with the dominant Houston Astros, many expected more of the same. Last year, he slashed .237/.296/.383, which isn't completely unplayable, but it's still a major drop off from the production Houston thought they were getting.

But this season has been so horrendously bad that Houston may be forced to cut the 37 year old first baseman. And it seems as though they have a timetable in mind for that day, unless Abreu shows some sort of promise.

"We're having conversations. We know he's struggling. There's a human element that people don't realize. At some point, as Joe mentioned, there's a timeline. We'll do what's best for the team," Astros GM Dana Brown said on Jose Abreu struggles.

Astros GM has an end date in mind for Jose Abreu experiment to finally end

The Astros first baseman is currently slashing a horrendous .124/.167/.195 on the year. He's quite literally doing everything wrong for the Astros this year, as Houston tries to will themselves back into a playoff spot.

Abreu is striking out a lot, he's not walking, he's not making hard contact and he's simply just uncompetitive this year. It's hard for the Astros to own up that signing him was a mistake but it's better to admit this mistake and move on rather than suffer in the conequences of thinking you're right.

There's no reason for Abreu to be on an MLB roster at this point in time. No team in the league would want him if the Astros decided to cut him, which seems to be the direction they're heading in.

The mention of a timeline and saying that they would do what's best for the team probably gives Abreu until around the All-Star break to figure it out. At that point, Houston should be aggressively in the market for a first baseman to replace him. However, it appears they may be out on the top options.