Wilyer Abreu

Houston Astros

On July 2, 2017, Abreu signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent.^[1] He made his professional debut that year with the Dominican Summer League Astros.^[2] Abreu spent the 2018 season with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Astros, playing in 41 games and batting .223/.310/.302 with 16 RBI and eight stolen bases.^[3]

Abreu advanced to Single-A in 2019, splitting the year between the Quad Cities River Bandits and the Low-A Tri-City ValleyCats. In 59 appearances for the two affiliates, he hit a combined .255/.326/.365 with two home runs, 13 RBI, and six stolen bases.^[4] Abreu did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[5]

Abreu returned to action in 2021 with the High-A Asheville Tourists, slashing .268/.363/.495 with 16 home runs, 50 RBI, and 10 stolen bases across 82 appearances.^[6] He began the 2022 season with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, batting .249/.399/.459 with 15 home runs, 54 RBI, and 23 stolen bases over 89 games.^[2]

Boston Red Sox

On August 1, 2022, the Astros traded Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez to the Boston Red Sox for catcher Christian Vázquez.^[7] Abreu played 40 games for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, batting .242/.399/.375 with four home runs, 19 RBI, and eight stolen bases. After the regular season, he played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League and posted a .167/.275/.204 slash line with 18 strikeouts in 54 at-bats.^[2] On November 15, the Red Sox added Abreu to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.^[8]

In a spring training game in early March 2023, Abreu suffered a left hamstring strain while running out a base hit against the Miami Marlins, following which Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he "will be out for a while."^[9] On March 11, he was optioned to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. On August 22, Abreu was promoted to the major leagues for the first time following an injury to Jarren Duran.^[10] Abreu made his major-league debut that evening, in a game against the Astros, and recorded his first MLB hit.^[11] In late August, he spent time on the paternity list.^[12] Overall, Abreu appeared in 28 major-league games, batting .316 with two home runs and 14 RBI.^[13] In 86 Triple-A games with Worcester, he batted .274 with 22 home runs and 65 RBIs.^[2] He was also named to the post-season Triple-A all-star team.^[14]

Abreu spent the 2024 season with Boston, appearing in 132 games including 106 starts in right field.^[13] He batted .253 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI.^[13] Abreu was named the Fielding Bible Award winner among major-league right fielders^[15] and the Gold Glove Award winner at that position for the American League (AL).^[16]

Abreu hit two home runs on Opening Day in 2025, against the Texas Rangers.^[17] He was the seventh player in Red Sox history to record a two-homer game on Opening Day.^[18] Abreu hit two home runs on June 30 against the Cincinnati Reds. His first home run was an inside-the-park home run, and the second was a grand slam, the first of his career. He was the sixth player to hit an inside-the-park home run and a grand slam (separately) in a game, the first since Roger Maris in 1958.^[19] In 2025, Abreu played in 115 games, including 95 starts in right field^[13] He batted .247 with 22 home runs and 69 RBI.^[13] On November 2, Abreu won the Gold Glove for AL right fielders.^[20]