The Houston Astros are acquiring outfielder Jose Abreu for a 3-year contract

first baseman Jose Abreu The Houston Astros have agreed to a three-year contract extension, which was announced Monday.

Abreu, who turns 36 in January, won the AL MVP award in 2020 and is second in baseball with 863 RBI since his first major league season, 2014. He hit .304/.378/.446 this year with the Chicago White Sox, with whom he played all nine 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 last three quarters of the season, hitting . 335/. 405/. 479, although his 15 home runs all year were a career low. He joined the Astros with fellow Cuban Jordan AlvarezAnd the Jose AltuveAnd the Kyle TuckerAnd the Alex Bregman And the MVP of the World Series Jeremy Pena.

He will replace Abreu Yuli Gurel, a longtime competitor in the Cuban National Series. Abreu and Gurriel, along with Yoenis Céspedes, were widely considered the best players of their generation in Cuba, both high-contact hitters, although Abreu’s strength was the breaker.

The White Sox extended it to three years and $50 million after 2019, when he led the American League with 123 RBI. Over his nine seasons, Abreu hit .292/.354/.506 with 243 home runs and a 34% adjusted OPS, better than the league average.

It was the second time this winter that the Astros had a renewed discharge Rafael Montero With a three-year contract worth $34.5 million. The Astros’ projected payroll is currently in the $175 million range (they’ve been over $187 million in each of the previous five seasons) and they’re still hoping to sign an ace. Justin Verlanderwhich can raise more than $40 million a year.