Would Jose Abreu make sense for the Cleveland Guardians?

Cleveland Guardians fans are pushing for the team to go after Jose Abreu

The Cleveland Guardians are in an interesting position. They’re a playoff team and one of the four best teams in the American League. They’re also a team with a limited budget due to an anemic fanbase, and a need for a power hitter to get them out of fourth and into first.

So they have to find a game-changing player on a budget. Shouldn’t be too hard.

One of the names that fans are hoping to see is former Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu. Abreu, 35, is a free agent this coming offseason and many believe the White Sox are going to let him walk in favor of Andrew Vaughn. If that’s the case, then it makes that the Guards should have some interest in the slugger.

Now, fan interest is one thing but does Abreu fit the needs of the Guardians?

Jose Abreu is an option for the Cleveland Guardians but at the right price

Abreu’s age is a concern. He is 35 years old already and is coming off of the worst slugging season of his career. He hit just 15 home runs and hit less than 100 RBIs for just the second time in his career across 162 games. He is still hitting the ball well, as he put up a .304 batting average but the team needed his power and it just never came.

Was this a fluke? History for great power hitters says maybe. Power, as in baseball and combat sports, is always the last thing to go for an athlete. So as long as he’s able to keep up with the pitch, he’ll retain his ability to hit home runs.

The problem is, despite power being the last thing to go, speed is the first and we all know that the speed of the hitter swinging his bat is as important as how hard he swings. If you can’t keep up with the bat, you can’t actually hit the ball hard enough to hit a home run.

The Guardians, if they consider Abreu and right now it’s a toss-up on whether they should or not, shouldn’t offer him a huge contract. One year, under $10 million. He’s not a long-term solution, so don’t give him a contract as if he were.