Paul Konerko Could Still Return To White Sox

On the surface, the White Sox’s signing of Jose Dariel Abreu to a monster six-year, $68MM deal might have signaled the end of Paul Konerko’s tenure in the Windy City.  However, General Manager Rick Hahn said yesterday on a conference call that the veteran could still return to the team next season, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.

“(We’ll) talk through what Paul is feeling and how he wants to handle his future as well as potentially the role he could conceivably play on the 2014 White Sox,” Hahn said. “Those conversations haven’t taken place yet and when they do we we’ll handle them the way we have (before) which is open and honestly and internally and not publicly.”

Konerko posted an uncharacteristically low .244/.313/.355 slash line in 2013 and missed nearly an entire month with back troubles.  The 37-year-old, who has six All-Star selections to his credit, posted a career low of 12 home runs last season.  Many speculated that 2013 would be Konerko’s final season, but the slugger sounds open to returning to the White Sox on a part-time basis.