The White Sox aren’t planning to offer pending free-agent first baseman/designated hitter Jose Abreu a contract extension this season, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports. However, the club and Abreu have long been open about their desire to stay together past this year, so it’s possible an agreement will occur over the winter.
Abreu is on the verge of wrapping up the six-year, $68MM contract he signed out of Cuba in October 2013. Believe it or not, that still ranks as the richest deal the White Sox have ever distributed. Abreu, now 32 years old, has more than lived up to the pact. He owns a .290/.346/.510 major league batting line with 168 home runs and 19.4 bWAR/16.3 fWAR across 3,660 plate appearances. Not only has Abreu’s aggregate production been tremendous, but he has emerged as a revered clubhouse presence during his five-plus seasons on the South Side of Chicago.
General manager Rick Hahn acknowledged Abreu’s behind-the-scenes importance last month, saying, “It’s sort of that more touchy-feely, emotional side of things in terms of knowing the value that he has in this clubhouse and the leadership skills, the softer benefits that he brings to the club, that affects your valuation of a guy like that.”
Of course, the fact that the White Sox hold Abreu the person in high esteem doesn’t guarantee they’ll keep the player. The club has been amid a rebuild for a large portion of Abreu’s tenure, but if it wants to make a legitimate run at contending in 2020, it could try to upgrade over him. His lifetime 130 wRC+ suggests doing so would be difficult, though Abreu’s output has been declining since 2018. His wRC+ through 451 PA this season sits at a career-worst 98, which has only outdone three qualified first basemen (possible Hall of Famers Joey Votto, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, mind you).
Although Abreu has continued to hit for power (22 homers, .209 ISO), his perennially meager walk rate has fallen to a personal-low 4.4 percent. Abreu has struck out in nearly 24 percent of plate appearances at the same time, helping leave him with a less-than-stellar .261/.297/.469 slash.
On the other side of the coin, Abreu has been a Statcast darling this year. His .351 expected weighted on-base average crushes his real wOBA of .322 and ranks in the majors’ 71st percentile. He also sits in the league’s 70th percentile or better in expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, average exit velocity and hard-hit rate.
Unless Abreu’s actual production starts trending toward his Statcast figures over the next two months, it seems highly doubtful the three-time All-Star will match or exceed his current $16MM salary in 2020. As things stand, he doesn’t look like a great candidate for a qualifying offer, which was valued at a pricey $17.9MM last offseason.
As long as the extension doesn’t exceed 2-3 years.
If you want your cornerstone player to continue playing in an empty stadium for a losing team, you’re going to have to pay a premium. And we all know that Jerry’s too cheap.
Abreu said about two weeks ago that he would “sign himself to a deal if the white Sox don’t offer one” so he can keep playing for them. If anything, they’re getting a hometown discount. Jerry is cheap but that’s irrelevant here. Don’t bother commenting if you have no idea what’s going on.
Internet Troll
“Cornerstone player” with a 101 OPS+ and a 0.5WAR? How ever will they replace that kind of production?
You’re right. He’s nothing special but is head and shoulders better than anyone else on the roster. It’s crazy to think that the Sox will actually be worse next.
Anything more than 1 year is too much and gets in the way of player development. We have a total of 6 or 7 potential DH/1B waiting in the wings
The bat is failing and the glove was never good. Anything more than 1 year $8mil is stupid. He won’t get a better offer anywhere else.
1B is too important to let feelings get in the way of winning.
This guy really bats are you smoking?
I think the White Sox will at the very least offer him a qualifying offer — it may end up being in his best interest to accept it but based on the way the White Sox talk about him… it’s really hard to imagine them not even offering that. I’m not saying he’s necessarily worth it from an on-field production stand point – but there’s no way the White Sox hold onto him this long just to let him walk for nothing. They’ve had ample opportunities to trade him at past trade deadlines (possibly even this one – with a rumor emerging about the Red Sox of all teams showing interest… though not sure how true that is – seeing as they’re so close to the tax line and everything, but none-the-less it was indeed reported) so anyway I just don’t see them letting him go after all these years of hanging onto him dearly and talking about how important he is as a clubhouse leader.
Foolish fodder by “Zanghi” to say the least. He’s a barely passable player at this point. They obviously find some intangible with him that isn’t measurable. Nonetheless, they should’ve parted ways for a nominal prospect. If he’s so dead set on being a participant with their “rebuild” if you will, he will resign. Otherwise what was the point!? He could’ve gotten a “pennant chase” worth of seasoning, come back, and continued the masochism of being a White Sox employee!?!? Instead, let’s keep a free agent to-be for nothing in return in case he decides… you know what… we suck!?
Somebody is sounding like a jilted lover.
How is being an employee of any professional baseball team “masochism”? Are you out of your mind?
You’re right it’s not. The Sox aren’t a professional team, though.
Neither are the cubs, rube.
A Q.O. is too much for Abreu. If he finds better, so what!?
If you want him to stay, you’ll have to pay up!
They basically have to. Otherwise what was the point of not trading him?
I’d go another year with him and reevaluate at the end of 2020. He gets a big hit now and then, and he’s able to help stabilize the young Spanish boys.
We are called “Latins.”
I thought the correct names was ‘latinos’?
Latinxes lol.
Cubanos
Cubanos if you’re from Cuba. But Latinos is generic.
I’ve just never heard anyone use the term ‘Latins’.
Future Astro
Jose Abreu will be a White Sox in 2020 at the bare minimum. They aren’t going to replace him with an external candidate at 1B for one season with Andrew Vaughn expected to make his MLB debut late next season or early on in 2021. Abreu will keep the position warm for Vaughn in 2020 and may even receive a fair contract extension beyond that time as a full time DH and backup to Vaughn starting in 2021.
The White Sox will want to continue their relationship with Abreu for reasons beyond the baseball diamond. He’s an invaluable asset as a mentor for many of the core pieces already on hand like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez and will continue that with Luis Robert in 2020. Abreu actually helped the White Sox recruit fellow Cuban countryman Robert as an international free agent in 2017, just as he was engaged by Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo back in 2013.
@Aaron Sapoznik
As I also said to Cubs GM below, it’s refreshing to see your posts on here. You are a voice of reason, and a much needed one. Thank you very much, especially after reading some of the other posts on here.
As for Abreu, I would be stunned if a deal didn’t get done, especially with Abreu basically throwing himself at the Sox. Hahn would have to offer a deal that would slap Abreu in the face for a deal not to get done, and I don’t see that happening. And despite the horrible rut he’s in offensively, he still brings value with his bat. I can see his numbers get better (not to the levels earlier in his career) because he will be hungrier, having more to prove signing a new deal.
People act like he’s regressed so badly that he should retire at season’s end. Until the ASB, he still had pretty good numbers (21 doubles, 21 HR, 66 RBI, .278 AVG, .522 SLG, .838 OPS at the ASB–I’d take those numbers at the ASB). Yes, his numbers overall the last couple seasons are in decline, but he’s also been in a bad slump since the ASB.
I would have no problem with him staying with the Sox next year or beyond. It’s not like he’s going to get a 5 yr, $150MM deal. His clubhouse presence and mentoring coming out of the rebuild, combined with the offensive production he will still provide (even in his decline), will be worth whatever deal he gets.
Contract will be resolved in offseason. Expect 2 yrs, $22mm
Then he’s as good as gone! He could get more money from a better organization and actually contend with them. Why would he take a discount to lose yet again?
He could get more money from a better organization and actually contend with them.
——————————————————–
I’m curious who that would be. His defensive stats suggest DH, and his OPS over the past 1.5 years is .786 and declining. His K/W has completely collapsed.
Why are you even on here commenting? You still upset about Eloy and Cease lol? Or maybe all of the bad contracts that Theo keeps giving players? The realization that when the Sox window opens the Cubs will be closed since Theo has decimated your farm system? Its cool man there is room on the south side for new fans
hahaha, what a clown.
Reported.
You’re like that kid who keeps bullying people and when someone bullies you back you run crying to the teacher
I know the White Sox like him but they may be waiting for him to receive underwhelming offers this winter and then swoop in with a semi-generous offer.
So many Cuban players came here and flamed out and couldn’t handle getting all the money and staying out of trouble. Jose Abreu was someone they all should have looked up to and aspired to be. He’s a true professional and took his responsibility seriously and performed. Kudos to a great career and I hope it continues for as long as he wants it to.
Which Cuban players flamed out and couldn’t handle the money and got in trouble?
Olivera, Arrubuena, and a few more off the top of my head
Trouble? Wha-huh?
Yolmer’s OBP is currently higher than Abreu’s. So is ENGEL’s for that matter! If he is signed for anything more than 1 year it would be a mistake and would show that for all their talk, the front office is the same as it ever was. Don’t get me started about Colome not being traded…Or how we still only have one DSL and AZL team smh ugh
Yankees Boston Astros might like him for 3 years & 30/36 million
no, they wouldn’t
“Abreu’s a future hall of Famer” – Tony Larussa.
I trust you are being sarcastic.
If not, then you are a bit far afield. Voit is much better. The RS might have a one-year opening at about $10M. The Astros have Gurriel.
Abreu has been a model of consistency. Good for him.
What I don’t see talked about enough on here is the 26 man roster starting next year. With the 13 pitcher limit, there’s going to be room on teams for a guy like Abreu. A “first baseman emeritus” so to speak. They can afford to have him on the bench for half the games in year 2 or 3 of a deal without sweating it too much. As long as any salary committed to him doesn’t interfere with their signing of other players I don’t see why not. This is a team that committed upwards of $20M to Yonder Alonso, Ivan Nova, Jon Jay, Wellington Castillo this year so it’s not like they are afraid of wasting a bit of money if it comes to that.
I think the assumption should always be ‘any salary committed to him DOES interfere with their signing of other players’
It’s a 0-sum game. Anything you pay to Abreu cannot be paid to anyone else.
There is no reason not to sign him as a DH for the next 4 years. He is comparable to Nelson Cruz and if he’s DHing he’s not blocking anybody. Decide if Vaughn, Sheets or Collins will be your 1B of the future and trade the other 2 who have more trade value than Abreu does for teams that fall in love with PROSPECTS like we appear to be.
He has nothing in common with Cruz. Cruz got better with age. Abreu is in decline. I wouldn’t give him any more than a year, as the future DH/1B combo is likely Jimenez/Vaughn.
Thank him for his service and let him walk, unless you sign him to a 1 yr lowball K. Every Abreu dollar should be allocated to pitching/Cole. While they are at it, get rid of Renteria and hire a modern pitching coach.
Well said sir. Cole should be our first, second, and third priority of the offseason
If Cole is the priority the first thing the Sox need to do is acquire Brandon Crawford (his brother in law). Then they need to scour all minor league teams he played for and high school rosters so that they can get his best friends. That plan worked so well with Machado, they might as well try it again. Unless it’s an extreme overpay, what makes you think Cole will come to the Sox? There is no Lester/Theo connection that they can rely on? There are at least six or seven teams better in the American League alone that may be vying for his services. Until the Sox so that they will overpay for someone, it’s not going to happen.
@mike127
Great, another Cub troll, and from the looks of it, one of Bocephus and Dogbone’s high school classmates (or rec accounts). I laughed so hard at your lame joke, I just about wet my pants. When planning out your career path with your high school counselor, make sure stand-up comedian isn’t among your choices. Everything about your comedy falls flat. Sorry Bocephus, oops, I mean mike127, but the truth hurts.
The White Sox are not going to sign Cole this off-season. Reinsdorf will not do a contract deal with Boras client Cole. I wish I could say otherwise.
@WhiteSox1961
Yes, thank you for bringing that up. Cole is the big fish now in the F/A market this Winter (though I suppose you could argue Rendon is). Boras will demand an enormous contract, both in length and amount, and someone will pay it. And it won’t be Reinsdorf. I think Sox would’ve went much harder after Harper than Machado had Harper not had Boras as his agent. Harper was the better fit for the team.
Reinsdorf just doesn’t have the stomach to lock horns with Boras, and as cheap as Reinsdorf has been, in this case, I don’t blame him. If I were an owner, I would be very leery of conducting business with Boras.
BTW, I’m not against having Cole on the team. If by some miracle Reinsdorf were to sign off on a deal the Sox outbid everyone else on, great. I don’t see that happening, not Reinsdorf with Boras.
What they will do is offer a deal with club options that *could* push the value of their deal to a higher point than everyone else then throw a massive temper tantrum when he signs elsewhere for more guaranteed money.
@Show Me Your Grapes
LOL a Pads troll. I didn’t know Pads trolls even existed until you showed on these message boards.
At least with the Cubs trolls, they have something to brag about, winning the WS in ’16. The Pads have one of the saddest histories of any team in all of sports.
And once again, congrats on the Shields/Tatis trade. It took the Pads 35 years to get over on a team for the Ozzie Smith trade, one of the stupidest trades in MLB history, but you guys finally did it.
I will be a nice guy and pat you on the back, so you don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back.
Interesting article but not even close to the major issues that the White Sox face. Abreu’s performance will decline with age . That is not an aberration. Loyalty and clubhouse presence should not be weighed more heavily that hitting and fielding metrics. Abreu has had a horrible second half so far, due in part to no protection, and a propensity for extended slumps. His signing (yes or no) is probably a non factor in the White Sox future success.
What does make a difference is the obvious weaknesses they have in three major areas :
1. Lack of player development within the minor league system.
2. Lack of evaluation and procurement of “major league” talent (Alonzo, Jay, Nova, Castillo)
3. Lack of quality in draft depth.
I am a 50 year White Sox fan and these factors are much more depressing than the recent struggles or lack of deadline moves. They suggest a future of poor to middling performance. It just doesn’t seem that an opportunity to contend next year is realistic especially since the Twins and Indians are better in all three areas and have much much better Teams today.
I thought the Forbes study on how Teams make money in baseball was very accurate. Be very good or reduce payroll and be very bad. The Sox have organizational issues that complicate a rebuild. A strategy alone is not enough.
Very well said.
Uh, it has nothing to do with “lack of procurement and player evaluation”, you tool. Every team that has ever gone through a rebuild signs cheap veteran players to short term contracts as placeholders while they tank to acquire high first round picks. To suggest the Sox signed these guys to somehow be competitive shows your ignorance and lack of baseball knowledge.
I guess I wouldn’t necessarily consider Castillo, Nova and Alonzo inexpensive additions as each has salaries in the $8M per year range. If they were signed for other reasons than to help the team win, (I.e Machado) then the Sox deserve less credit than I am giving them.
I personally hate the Twins but they made similar acquisitions Gonzalez, Schoop, Oderizzi, Cruz at similar salaries and contract length. . The Sox past record of performance is no better than this year. Who can defend moves like Shields, Dunn and LaRoche.?
I still have hopes, but to compete 2000, 2001, everything will need to go right with the core group and that rarely happens in MLB.. You need to find a couple of mid round draft picks that hit or trade for a couple of valuable players to augment that core like Colome, without giving up a better player in return (Narvaez). I will keep my fingers crossed?
The Tool.
The Sox traded a nobody minor league player for Nova for this year just to fill in a spot in the pitching rotation. Nova’s contract is up after this year so don’t expect the Sox to resign him at all.
The Sox trading for Alonso and signing Jay was to help persuade Manchado to sign here in the offseason. After all, Alonso and Manchado are brother in laws while Jay has been friends with them.
Castillo’s contract is up after this season so don’t expect him to be around after this season.
You hit all of the nails on the head. They’re really not in a good spot going forward. It’s probably time to get old man Renteria out of there. But we all know that won’t happen until Reinsdorf sells the team. Mediocrity is the best case scenario for them in the next 5 years.
lmao!
I could see the Dodgers making an offer of 2 or 3 years since they basically have no 1B. It’s not really like the current FO to do something like that, but at the right price it would make a lot of sense.
I don’t know if there was no interest around the league, but how a team like the Sox doesn’t trade this guy is difficult to understand.
Not difficult to understand, this front office is inept. Complacancy / mediocrity is what is they like to operate
It’s simple. Colome has another year left on his contract, which gives the Sox flexibility. They can keep him and still get value at the deadline next year if they’re not in contention. Rushing to trade him now with mediocre offers now would be dumb.
Sox did Abreu a disservice by not trading him at the deadline. And, it looks like they’ll try to lowball him during the off season.
Bottom line, this team is going no where this year. And, with all their pitching prospects on IL having TJ surgery, next year will be a bust. Sox should have rewarded Abreu’s loyalty and traded him to a team that had a shot at the post season. Because it sure won’t happen on the Southside.
The reality is that nobody wanted to trade for him.
The White Sox should just change their logo to a guy shrugging his shoulders with his pants pockets turned out. It would contrast well at Guaranteed Rate park.
@Android Dawesome
I’m sure you have plenty of strengths. Unfortunately, humor is not one of them. But you never know until you try.
They don’t need Abreu.
Hahn just called up the future, in Matt Skole.
Just trust in Rick and r-e-l-a-x.
No surprise here regarding an extension during the season. Most all professional teams around (MLB,NFL,NBA, NHL) hold off until the off season. A deal will get done. I’ll say 2 years around 20-24 million and a team option/buy out for a 3rd year . Sure Jose will be slowing down as most players do in the 30’s. But the guy has the respect in the dug out and locker room. He’s a pro’s pro and hopefully he get a descent offer.
@Cubs GM
I wish all Cub fans that came on here were just like you. Your posts are always well-thought and respectful. I have quite a few friends who are Cub fans and you remind me of them. We get into discussions/debates, but each of us knows were the others are coming from and it’s friendly and respectful. They are the main reason I rooted for the Cubs in the ’16 WS (it helped they faced Cleveland LOL).
So thank you for being on these message boards. Seeing the trash on these message boards from the Cub trolls (and I’m sure you see more than your fair share of trash from Sox trolls), it’s refreshing to see your posts on these message boards.
Ditto
If they want to sign Abreu for 1 more year/8mil fine, but first aggressively pursue and save the finite $ JR willing to spend for younger veteran impact players.
Sheets and/or Vaughn should be up by late 2020,
Mercedes can DH on the cheap and get a first look this year to see how that goes. Even Collins now after demotion has impressively learned he better focus on hitting his way on b/c MLB pitchers will not issue low contact guys walks like they do in AAA unless he proves he can hit outside of just swinging for the fence.
The biggest mistake Abreu could make is trusting Hahn. Since Hahn has been GM. They haven’t had a winning season. Now it look like they going for a high draft pick and the loser fund that make make money without spending money. If and when JR sell the team. They’ll be massive housing cleaning. Until that time, we’re going to have listen to many facts that have no bearing on the wining the game.
Only way JR relinquishes control of the White Sox is via a casket. Don’t want to be mean, but it’s the truth.
@mjc71
Absolutely it’s the truth.
Rick Hahn too lazy to trade him.
Made a mistake on the draft picks. The lower pick is the better pick.. You win for losing. It’s seems to be the plan.
cubs fans are starting to see clearly now. The cubs are officially done, and their desperation is palpable. Meanwhile the White Sox have assembled some of the finest young talent in baseball, with more on the way. Can’t wait to see all the triggered cubs fans when the Sox win the WS in a few years.
Sox fans are starting to see clearly now. The sox are officially done, and their desperation is palpable. Meanwhile the Cubs have assembled some of the finest young talent in baseball, with more on the way. Can’t wait to see all the triggered sox fans when the cubs win the WS in a few years.
How are you going to win a WS in a few years, all your players are gonna be FA by then which you won’t be able to sign because you’ll be paying chatwood, darvish, heyward, Kimbrel, etc. not a Sox fan btw.
More on the way? Their farm system is garbage and they have bad contracts locked up. Neither team has a good outlook going into next year.
The white sox have to depends on their farm system, because no established ballplayer would want to be stuck with a forever building franchise.