The Houston Astros released slugging first baseman José Abreu, the team announced Friday.
The former AL MVP and three-time All-Star has more than $30 million remaining on his three-year, $58.5-million contract signed prior to last season.
“We’ve been talking about it over the last week or so,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. “Ultimately, Abreu is an outstanding human being, has an outstanding career. We tried different things to get him going, like sending him down. As we talked through the process this week, we felt it was time to make a change.”