​Astros reliever could ruin free agent value if one issue comes up in postseason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Houston Astros are 81-81, yet they are hosting a Wild Card series after winning the AL West. It’s been a strange 2026 season for the Astros, as the start looked incredibly bleak, but things have turned around for the better in the second half.There’s one player who best exemplified this, and it’s right-handed reliever Bryan Abreu. He began the season on a horrible note, but has rebounded big-time in the second half to become a valuable reliever once again.It’s fortunate too, as it’s a contract year for Abreu. But as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand highlighted, one issue could “come back to haunt him” in the postseason as he tries to land a new deal in free agency: Abreu’s walk problem.Bryan Abreu’s walk problem could ‘come back to haunt him’ in free agency”Abreu’s elite strikeout numbers are huge in playoff games, though his 15.3% walk rate — among the worst in baseball — could come back to haunt him,” Feinsand writes.There is a lot to like about a reliever like Abreu. He is elite in the postseason, posting a 2.49 ERA in 21 games since 2019 across 21.1 innings of work with 35 strikeouts.This season, Abreu has a 3.73 ERA in 66 appearances, which isn’t anything spectacular, but is quite impressive considering how he began the season.In his first 9.1 innings of work across 11 appearances, Abreu had a horrendous 12.54 ERA and a 10.07 FIP. That stretch was awful, but it ended in April, and he turned things around afterwards.MORE: White Sox reportedly have ‘no urgency’ to sign Munetaka Murakami to an extensionFrom May 3, his first outing since his awful start to the year, to his final outing on September 24, Abreu, in 55 appearances, went 53.1 innings, striking out 64 batters and posting a 2.19 ERA.While his overall production was strong, his 26 walks in that time span contributed to his 15.3% walk rate for the season, the worst in MLB.That one problem for Abreu could be what spells disaster for him in the playoffs. If he has a blowup outing or two in the postseason, his free agent options might be significantly worse than they would be if he thrived in the postseason.A lot is on the line for Abreu this postseason, as a strong showing could be a huge help in landing a good free agent deal this offseason.But if his walk issues persist, then Abreu could be in some trouble when it comes to seeking out a new contract. He might have to settle for a one-year prove-it deal, which for the 29-year-old righty reliever, would not be ideal.More MLB news:Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski makes all kinds of MLB history with 1,000 pitches of 100 mphHow Mets, Dodgers and Guardians all made same brutal trade mistake amid MVP racesPirates urged to re-sign Brandon Lowe if they ‘want to be taken seriously’How Randal Grichuk has been a ‘godsend’ for the White Sox after Yankees