Bryan Abreu entered the season with the kind of job that can define a reliever’s year, and it didn’t take long for that plan to unravel.
Houston handed Abreu the closer role to start the regular season, but the results came fast and ugly. He gave up three runs in a non-save situation against the Los Angeles Angels on March 28, then came back the next day at Daikin Park with a two-run lead in the ninth.
That cushion disappeared quickly. Abreu walked Adam Frazier to start the inning, then issued a one-out walk to Mike Trout, and Astros manager Joe Espada didn’t wait around.
He pulled Abreu from the save chance and turned to left-hander Bryan King, who finished it off.
Josh Hader was on the 15-day injured list at the time with left biceps tendinitis, so Abreu was still Houston’s main ninth-inning option. But the early-season wobble kept rolling into April.
On April 8, while working in a 9-1 defeat to the Houston Astros, the eight-year veteran walked two hitters and allowed a run-scoring single to Troy Johnson. NBC Sports also noted that his four-seam fastball was being clocked around 1-1.5 mph slower.
Then on April 28, in another non-save spot, he gave up a three-run homer to Los Angeles Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel.
That kind of start has changed the way the market looks at him. Abreu was once viewed as a premium bullpen piece, but now he looks more like a classic buy-low trade candidate ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline. The question is whether any contender is willing to take the gamble.
The struggles didn’t stop in the spring. Through his first 25.1 innings, Abreu had a 6.39 ERA and 1.82 WHIP, and the inconsistency carried into May and June.
Once Hader returned in June, Abreu shifted into a setup role, but that didn’t solve the problem. On June 22, he stepped away from the team for three days, citing personal reasons.
That backdrop matters because Abreu’s recent track record is still strong. From 2022-25, he posted a combined 2.30 ERA in 275 appearances, establishing himself as one of the more reliable relievers in the game. The big question now is whether 2026 might be an off year, or whether the personal issues he referenced have played a role in the downturn.
Abreu is competing in a contract year and is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season. That gives Houston a possible path: deal him at the deadline, then try to bring him back on a “prove-it” deal in the offseason.
For now, though, the issue is more basic than that. Can the Astros find a taker for Bryan Abreu?
In Other News...
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Brandon Woodruffs situation is the one hanging over everything. He has not pitched since July 4, and after a new shoulder issue pushed him to the 60-Day Injured List, the Brewers are still waiting on a second opinion before they can map out anything resembling a return plan. For a team trying to protect a strong first half, the uncertainty around one of its key arms is the kind of concern that can linger well beyond the All-Star break. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Just Got Another Troubling Sign About Their Rotation Depth
The Astros rotation depth took another hit this week when right-hander Mike Burrows landed on the 15-day injured list after being optioned to Triple-A. Houston had hoped the move would give Burrows a chance to regroup, but the club instead had to reverse course and nullify the assignment, leaving another arm unavailable as the team tries to keep its pitching staff intact through the summer stretch.
Burrows is not eligible to return until July 22, and his situation comes on the heels of a similar episode with Kai-Wei Teng just three weeks earlier. For a front office that has already spent real prospect capital to build pitching depth, the repeated injury-related reversals are a reminder that the Astros margin for error on the mound is getting thinner, not wider. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Cannot Cross This Trade Deadline Line
The Astros reached the All-Star break at 47-51, a place they have not been in for years and one that forces a different kind of conversation as the trade deadline approaches. If Houston does decide to listen on veterans, it will be doing so from an unfamiliar position, with the front office having to weigh short-term damage against whatever chance remains to keep the season from slipping away.
Yordan Alvarez is the one player who makes that calculation feel especially dangerous. Even in a down year for the club, he has been one of the leagues most productive hitters and remains under contract through 2028 on a deal that still looks favorable for Houston, which is exactly why moving him would be the kind of move that can haunt a team long after the deadline passes. [Read more 🡒]