It was a winding road, but Wilyer Abreu is now playing a critical role for the Red Sox - The Boston Globe (2024)

Over the team’s last 17 games, Abreu has played in 15, starting 14. He has hit .352/.419/.593 over that period, while recently going on a run of driving in runs in eight straight games — the longest such streak by a Red Sox player under the age of 25 since Ted Williams in 1942.

He also has played excellent defense in right field, most recently with a terrific running catch in the corner against the Cubs on Sunday night. And he has been a presence on the bases, swiping four.

“He checks all the boxes,” said Sox manager Alex Cora. “He’s a complete player and he’s a joy to watch. We’re going to keep rolling with him. He’s going to be playing a lot.”

While that might seem like a sudden reversal, it’s far from the most extreme one that Abreu has experienced with the organization.

Eight years ago, Abreu was supposed to be a Red Sox player. They had scouted him heavily out of Venezuela in the lead-up to the 2016-17 international amateur signing period. He’d demonstrated a wealth of skills — not only his hitting and outfield defense, but also his pitching arm.

“We had wanted him to be a two-way player then,” recalled Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero. “That was kind of a first for us; if we were able to sign him, we wanted him to go out and pitch and play the outfield.

“He was somebody that was one of our priority players to follow.”

Abreu believed his future was in the Red Sox organization.

“I was close to signing with the Red Sox,” Abreu said through translator Carlos Villoria-Benítez. “But with the things that happened at the time, I wasn’t able to.”

The “things that happened” were the Red Sox getting hit with penalties by MLB for signing five players to package deals in their 2015-16 class. Not only were the five declared free agents, but the Sox were prohibited from signing any players in 2016-17 — thus leaving Abreu without a baseball home.

He ended up signing with the Astros for a $300,000 bonus at the beginning of the 2017-18 signing period. Though he was skinny and physically immature, the Astros believed Abreu had a chance to be a good, well-rounded player. He has exceeded expectations.

“The combination of his defensive ability at a premium position, lefthanded contact bat, we thought he had a frame that could fill out where he could still maintain athleticism,” said Marlins assistant GM Oz Ocampo, who was a director of the Astros’ international scouting efforts when Abreu signed.

“But in terms of his development, the thing that separated him was his makeup, just his work ethic, his competitive fire, his learning ability, his aptitude. It’s just his desire to get better all the time.

“We thought that we had a really good player when we signed him, but he’s put so much work in terms of just optimizing his defense, becoming a better hitter, and then really working his butt off to get stronger and more physical, turning himself into the player that he is right now.”

Romero was happy for Abreu when he began his pro career, albeit disappointed that he hadn’t joined the Red Sox, and called to congratulate him.

“When you scout a kid for that long, you get to know him,” said Romero. “He’s a tremendous human being. He’s a great kid. We had a conversation about how, hey, baseball works in funny ways. Maybe one day you’ll see yourself in a Red Sox uniform.”

That vision came to fruition five years into Abreu’s career. After a modest start in which he hit just two homers in his first three seasons in the Astros organization, he made significant strides in 2020, despite the absence of a minor league season. Abreu added size and strength to his frame (he’s now 5 feet 10 inches and 215 pounds), and also made swing alterations to tap into that newfound strength by more consistently driving the ball in the air.

He had a strong 2021 campaign, hitting 16 homers with High A Asheville, then backed it up with an excellent start in 2022, hitting .249/.399/.459 with 15 homers in 89 games in Double A. That performance — atop the long history with him — led the Sox to target Abreu along with infielder Enmanuel Valdez when they dealt catcher Christian Vázquez to the Astros at the 2022 trade deadline.

“I got to call him when we traded for him,” said Romero. “It was a neat moment, and it goes to show how small the baseball world is. It’s funny how things work out sometimes, but I’m glad he’s here. He’s been super impressive.”

For Abreu, the trade provided an opportunity for him to call Fenway Park home — a dream delayed but not dissolved.

“Obviously I had that vision in 2016 when I was close to signing with the team,” said Abreu. “When I signed with the [Astros], I didn’t think it was going to be possible, but now, being able to play here on this field, with this team, makes me very happy. I just can’t wait to help this organization to win.”

Through the first month of the season — and particularly the most recent two weeks — Abreu has played an essential role in doing just that.

Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.