WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – From the blue and orange uniforms to the sunny skies that produced 86-degree weather to a pitch timer that had everybody on their toes, new Astros slugger José Abreu categorized his Grapefruit League debut as “very weird.”

Abreu, whom the Astros signed to a three-year, $58.5 million contract in November, went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in his first two at-bats in a Houston uniform and played five innings at first base in a 4-2 win over the Mets on Saturday afternoon at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

“A lot of things were,” Abreu said when asked what was weird. “The colors of the jerseys were weird, the climate here in Florida is a little bit different [than the Cactus League] and a little bit weird and obviously, new teammates I’m just starting to get to know, but very fortunate and very appreciative of where I am at right now. It’s just the beginning.”

The beginning of what the Astros hope is a banner year for the Cuban slugger, who played his first nine Major League seasons with the White Sox and has been one of the top middle-of-the-order run producers in the game. He was the only starting position player in Astros manager Dusty Baker’s lineup Saturday, striking out swinging in the first inning and flying to right field in the fourth.

Abreu spent the remainder of the game taking more swings in the batting cage with hitting coach Alex Cintron. Even at 36 years old and with an American League MVP trophy to his name, he’s not satisfied.

“To me, repetition is the thing that will take you to perfection,” Abreu said. “When you don’t feel perfect, the only thing you can do is work hard. I worked with Cintron and talked baseball with him.”

Abreu’s work ethic has stood out to Baker.

“He works in the weight room, he works on the field, he is a worker,” Baker said. “He doesn’t say a whole bunch. But he’s come in and gotten instant respect from our guys because they know he’s a ballplayer. He takes pride in it and works on it.”

As the spring progresses, expect to see Abreu on the field quite a bit. He’s not playing in the World Baseball Classic like several of his teammates, but he likes getting at-bats during Spring Training. He wants to play as much as he can. Abreu appeared in 97 percent (528 of 546) of the White Sox’s games the last four seasons.

“I’m a person [who] likes playing every single day,” he said. “It’s a new team and different mentality, but I’m going to talk to Dusty and [bench coach] Joe [Espada] and I know they’re going to put me in the best position to be successful.”

There were no violations of the new pitch timer rules in Saturday’s game, though Abreu said playing a lot this spring will help him get adjusted to the quicker pace.

“I think we all have to get the timing and it will be a little bit easier, but I think we’re going through it at the moment,” he said.

‘Nervous’ Wagner leaves a mark

Astros non-roster invitee Will Wagner, the son of former Astros, Mets and Braves closer Billy Wagner, admitted he was nervous but that didn’t stop him from going 2-for-2 with a double Saturday in his first game (his dad hit 2-for-20 in his 16-year career). Wagner, who replaced David Hensley at third base to start the sixth, immediately made a play when he fielded a two-hopper off the bat of speedy Tim Locastro and threw him out at first base by a hair.

“I made the play and I was like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m here and I can do this. I can calm down now,’” Wagner said. “My anxiety was going. I was ready for anything and once it came to me, I said, ‘I can handle this.'"

Wagner, who was drafted out of Liberty University in 2021, split last year between High-A Asheville and Double-A Corpus Christi, hitting .261 with 62 runs, 19 doubles, three triples, 10 homers, 53 RBIs and 67 walks. He was named an Arizona Fall League All-Star after batting .346 with 10 runs, six doubles, three homers and a 1.145 OPS in 14 games.

“It’s good to be back out there, playing against different teams,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been out there to do that. It was fun. The adrenaline got me going."