It would be hard to script a worse start to a season than José Abreu’s first 22 games of 2024.
A year after a solid-if-not-spectacular first season with the Houston Astros, Abreu is slashing .099/.156/.113 with no home runs and three RBI in 22 games. The Astros are struggling as well, with a record of 9-19 relegating them to the American League West’s basement.
On Tuesday, Houston took a drastic step. According to general manager Dana Brown, the Astros and Abreu have agreed on a demotion to the FCL Astros of the Florida Complex League in West Palm Beach, Fla. “to get (Abreu) some at-bats and his timing back right.”
José Abreu is not with the Astros, GM Dana Brown said. Both sides decided that Abreu will be optioned to West Palm Beach effective tomorrow “to get some at-bats and his timing back right.”
Abreu, 37, has been a consistent performer since debuting for the Chicago White Sox in 2014. He finished fourth in the AL MVP voting after a sensational rookie season, and was named the AL’s MVP following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Houston signed Abreu to a three-year, $59 million contract in Nov. 2022. The Astros open a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday in Texas.
They’re now on a three-game win streak after defeating the Cleveland Guardians in dramatic extra-innings walk-off fashion at home Tuesday night. The final score was 9-8.
Perhaps it was the energy change of Jose Abreu DFA-ing himself to work on his swing, or maybe it’s just that the pitching rotation is getting healthier, but either way, I’m willing to bet on it.
Justin Verlander gets the ball tonight at home, and he has looked strong to start the season, allowing only two earned runs across his first two starts (10 ⅓ innings pitched). However, his xERA of 4.50, according to Statcast, suggests there could be some regression. Keep your eye on Jose Ramirez, who has excellent career numbers vs. Verlander.
Triston McKenzie gets the start for Cleveland. McKenzie is pitching with a torn ligament in his left elbow (true story), which seems to have affected his command. McKenzie has walked 6.95 batters per nine innings this year, which could spell trouble vs. a Houston team that no longer has Abreu as an automatic out. Despite their lack of wins, the Astros have the third-best BA in MLB (.265), the fifth-highest SLG (.419), and the fifth-best OPS (.750).
The Guardians have been one of the best teams in baseball when it comes to RISP, while the Astros have been one of the worst teams when it comes to relief pitching. Despite their star power, the Astros bullpen could be shaky today with many relievers—including closer Josh Hader—likely unavailable after being used in Tuesday night’s extra innings.
When I add all this up, all signs point to the over on the game total of nine runs tonight at the Juice Box.
Expect Jose Altuve and Jeremey Pena to get hits, and Triston McKenzie to strike out fewer than 4.5 batters. The Astros have the lowest K rate in MLB at just 16.6%, and McKenzie has struck out no more than two batters in each of his last three starts.
The Astros are -175 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win, so if you don’t like the payout but want to shy away from the run line, consider an SGP (same-game parlay) with one of the player props mentioned above.
The Astros have won five of their last seven matchups with the Guardians dating back to 2023.
The Bets, with odds coming via DraftKings Sportsbook:
Let’s have some fun and look at a couple of plus-money dogs that could be worth a wager Tuesday night—all odds according to DraftKings.
Braves ML +145 at DraftKings
Sure, the Braves are at home, and yes, Reynaldo Lopez has been excellent to start the season, but +145 for the Red Sox to pull off the upset looks mighty fine to me.
Kutter Crawford gets the start for the Red Sox, and he has been excellent this year. If you’re a fantasy baseball enthusiast, you probably already know this. He was one of my favorite sleepers heading into the season and became a waiver wire must-add some time ago.
But I digress.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford on April 5, 2024.
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
Crawford has a 1.56 ERA this season and isn’t allowing hard contact. His 26.1% hard-hit rate is in the top 3% of the league.
The Braves have scored the second-most runs per game this season (5.09), but their bats have been cold for the past two weeks. They have managed only 3.18 runs per game across the past two weeks of play. That ranks 27th out of 30 MLB teams.
The Red Sox have averaged 4.92 runs per game across the last two weeks of play, ranking seventh in MLB.
The public will be all on the Braves bouncing back at home. After all, the Braves are 11-4 this season when they are the home favorite. It’s tempting to back the home team, but the +145 is even more enticing.
Houston Astros ML +105 at DraftKings
The Yankees swept Houston in the first series of the season at Minute Maid, and now they even get home-field advantage.
So, why are we backing the Houston Astros, whose bullpen has blown nine saves?
Justin Verlander.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander takes the mound Tuesday.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Verlander has been sharp since returning from the IL, allowing only four earned runs across three starts and 17 1/3 innings pitched. Not only that, but this Yankees lineup is hitting a collective .158 and slugging a mere .354 lifetime vs. Verlander.
Both teams have hit well recently, and yes, Juan Soto seems to be Houston’s daddy, but for the plus-money payout, I’m willing to bet the road team comes out on top in a low-scoring affair Tuesday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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One of the core pieces of the Toronto Blue Jays' late-2010s rebuild appears to be on the way out the door.
The Blue Jays have designated second baseman and right fielder Cavan Biggio for assignment, the team announced Friday evening. In a corresponding move, Toronto recalled first baseman and designated hitter Spencer Horwitz from the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Once a promising prospect, Biggio has struggled mightily in 2024. The son of Hall of Fame second baseman, catcher and center fielder Craig Biggio is slashing .200/.323/.291 with two home runs and nine RBIs this season.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are off to a 30–32 start after an 89–73 showing in 2023.
ROSTER MOVES:
🔹 INF Spencer Horwitz recalled from Triple-A and will be active for tonight’s game
As a rookie in 2019, Biggio hit 16 home runs in 100 games—good enough to finish fifth in the voting for American League Rookie of the Year. He hit for the cycle on Sept. 17 of that year and performed well in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but couldn't quite get over hump even as Toronto began to win consistently.
