The Houston Astros sign Jose Abreu to a 3-year contract

First baseman Jose Abreu And the Houston Astros have agreed to a three-year deal, it was announced Monday.

Abreu, who turns 36 in January, won the AL MVP award in 2020 and is second in baseball with 863 RBIs since his first major league season in 2014. He hit .304/.378/ .446 with the Chicago White Sox this year. Played with him in all nine of his major league seasons after leaving Cuba to play professionally.

After a terrible first five weeks, Abreu was one of the best hitters in baseball over the final three quarters of the season, hitting .335/.405/.479, though his 15 home runs were his lowest of the year. He joins fellow Cuban in the Astros lineup Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and World Series MVP Jeremy Pena.

Abreu will change Yuli Kuriel, a longtime rival in the Cuban national series. Abreu and Gurriel, along with Yoenis Cespedes, widely considered the best players of their generation in Cuba, were both high-contact hitters, although Abreu’s strength was as a breaker.

The White Sox signed him to a three-year, $50 million extension after 2019, when he led the American League with 123 RBIs. In his nine seasons, Abreu hit .292/.354/.506 with 243 home runs and an adjusted OPS 34% above league average.

It’s the second signing this winter for the Astros, who have revamped a reliever Rafael Montero With a three-year, $34.5 million contract. The Astros’ projected payroll is currently in the $175 million range (they’ve topped $187 million in each of the previous five seasons) and they’re still confident of signing him. Justin VerlanderAble to rake in over $40 million a year.