The White Sox have one particularly notable free agent in first baseman/designated hitter Jose Abreu, who has never looked all that likely to leave the club. Both sides have said time and again that they would like to continue their partnership, and the White Sox protected against Abreu’s exit somewhat by giving him a qualifying offer earlier this week. With that in mind, the Nov. 14 deadline to accept the QO may be moot in the case of Abreu, with whom the White Sox have discussed a long-term contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.
In Abreu’s case, “long term” could be relatively short. After all, he’s a soon-to-be 33-year-old whom MLBTR has re-signing with the White Sox on a two-year, $28MM deal. Even that total looks somewhat generous for a non-elite hitter who brings little to no defensive value to the table. Just last winter, DH Nelson Cruz settled for a one-year, $14.3MM guarantee with the Twins after a somewhat more impressive season than the one Abreu just had. Cruz was then fresh off a .256/.342/.509 season with 37 home runs, whereas Abreu hit .284/.330/.503 with 33 HRs this year.
Despite Abreu’s ab0ve-average contributions at the plate, the White Sox ranked 18th in the majors in wRC+ and 24th in runs this season. They’re clearly a team in need of offensive help if they’re finally going to return to relevance in 2020, so retaining Abreu for a reasonable sum would make sense. Keeping Abreu would at least enable the White Sox to cancel out one potential need area and move on to other business.
First
Base
Come, first serve.
Guy led the league in RBI last year and is the undisputed clubhouse leader. Let him reap what he sowed. Good Guys have a ton of money to spend.
This don’t mean anything. He’s an above average bat who plays a bad 1B. Plus Sheets and Vaughn are coming fast.
Couldn’t imagine Jose on another team. Good stick. Keeps his mouth shut and plays ball. How they used to describe Mattingly as a player, 100% baseball 0% bulls***, same goes for Abreu.
Sheets is a longshot. Vaughn will be up in 2021 at the earliest. He is the heir apparent. But even then, Jose can DH. And at some point, he’s going to regress to backup level.
just get it over with.
one of the most underated players. id say 3-40mil with club option for 4th year
that’s ridiculously expensive. and too long. 2 years $22 million. club option for a third year at $10 million with a buyout of $3 million. This way at max he makes $32 million but he’ll guarantee $25.
Thats a well put together offer! Nice job
& this why you not a GM. We will see true results.
He may as well just take the QO and hope that he is good enough to be worth more than $7.2 million in 2021.
Scott Merkin was talking about a 2 year deal with team option.
Yes. MLBTR has Jose Abreu re-signing with the White Sox on a two-year, $28MM FA contract. I believe that number will be very close to the eventual agreed upon deal and the team option could very well be a vesting one.
Abreu would hold 1B down until top prospects Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets and/or Jake Burger are ready for prime time, perhaps as soon as 2021. At that point, Abreu could then transition to more DH duties. Slugging but defensively challenged lefty hitting reserve catcher Zack Collins will likely backup Abreu at 1B this coming season while also potentially sharing some DH time with him or another offseason acquisition.
I believe another veteran catcher will be a high priority target by GM Rick Hahn this winter, hopefully Yasmani Grandal which would push 2019 starter James McCann to #2 and relegate Collins to third string backstop in addition to his reserve roles at 1B/DH.
So you’d have them carrying 3 catchers on the roster?
He isn’t the only one. I have seen a few lineup projections that suggest that as well.
Wont matter, 12th year of the tankville Express courtesy of the worst owner in league history. Hes only concerned about himself
Aaron, I’m sure you can remember all the ‘excitement ‘ about how your beloved Chisox were going to sign Barry Bonds, back in the day. LOL!! All hype, no action. Anything to sell tickets.
Do they even have one, of MLB quality.
WubbaLubbaDubDub: Absolutely. Active rosters will expand to 26 players in 2020 with a cap on 13 pitchers. The White Sox also figure to carry at least 2 reserve players who can play multiple positions including those in the infield and outfield with Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick which opens up the opportunity for 3 catchers on the roster.
Any AL team contemplating using a catcher as a DH on a semi-regular basis like the White Sox have already suggested with Collins would need to carry 3 backstops on their roster to make this feasible. It will harken back to the days when 3 catchers were routinely carried on rosters. Of course those days also only had 10-12 pitchers on a typical 25-man roster rather than the 13 which has become commonplace in the past decade or two.
They signed Albert Belle instead to a huge deal for that time.
There’s nothing wrong with carrying 3 catchers if one of them will be DH’ing everyday and/or sharing time at 1B. It’s much more useful than bringing in another Dunn/Laroche/Alonso to DH.
Priggish, you have just exactly described Zack Collins, but Collins isn’t even as good, as those.
If it’s a two year pact with a club option maybe but a “long-term” pact no way. He’s due for some regression soon. He’s not good enough to sign to a long term deal knowing you’ll have to eat some down years on the back end. Two years guaranteed would be my max even if it costs a little extra in AAV
Frank Thomas insisted that Albert Belle was better, so that’s who they signed instead of Bonds.
tycobb016: Yes. Albert Belle was a free agent following the 1996 season and was given the highest AAV contract in MLB at that time by the White Sox. Barry Bonds was not a FA that offseason but was considered to be available in a trade from the Giants.
Rumor has it that owner Jerry Reinsdorf asked slugger Frank Thomas who he preferred the White Sox try to acquire that offseason to ‘protect’ him in their batting order. Thomas allegedly chose Belle and the White Sox accomodated him.
Yes, I know Zack Collins isn’t even as good as those superstars. And I also know that 24 year old players can’t improve after their first 100 plate appearances in the bigs. I get it.
Danny Mendick likely starts next year in the minors. It gives the team extra depth.
I’d be surprised if Abreu is on another team next year
Did you know that his older brother is Bobby Abreu?
Fake news
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Did you know his younger brother is Albert Abreu?
4 years 90M,
Bang that gavel! Abreu to the Yanks for $90 mill.! No, I don’t think they’re that foolish.
Crazy talk
.284 average with 33 bombs isn’t elite in today’s game anymore, then the baseball metrics people have really forgotten what this game is all about. Every team needs a middle of the order bat.. Abreu is just that. He may not be elite as a total
player, but he’s certainly a middle of the order bat, and is definitely worthy of 14 million a year annually.
Its not elite. 58 players had 30+ home runs last year. Compared to 2010, there were only 18. Batting average only carries so much weight. And a .284 BA isn’t super great. It’s ok, but with a .330 OBP, and 61 players had a slugging of .500 or more.
He led the league in RBI’s on a team that scored the 3rd fewest runs. He must be doing something right.
Middle of the order bay and elite hitter don’t automatically go hand in hand. The description didn’t get anything wrong.
Not elite but still will.make more money than your dumb assement.
Eightball611… Are you mentally sick, did you wake up on the wrong side of your mothers tit this morning? Assaulting random people you don’t even know with your comments. You’re probably inbred with your “dumb” arse.
Yankees would swoop in a heartbeat.
To play where exactly….?
If they wanted aging 1B/DH bat, they could have just given Encarnacion a QO, who is a superior bat anyways.
That would have been an odd thing to do considering the current QO is $17.8 million and they had an option on him for the 2020 season for a net of only $15 million.
Why would the Yankees want another dh/1b. They have Voit or LeMahieu for first base and Sanchez Voit and Stanton as dh possibilities. Yankees signing Abreu makes no sense given there needs for a good SP which will cost big money
19 of the 36 players that hit over 33 home runs hit over .280. He was one of them.
Ya not elite lol
2019 Hitting .257 with a .772 OPS against right-handed pitching seems to be the logical concern at his age.
3 years- $45M should get it done.
There are 20 1B/DH’s in MLB who can put up a 117 wRC+.
The Sox were terrible vs RHP last year and even with his season saving Aug. hot streak Abreu was part of the problem.
I hope Rick doesn’t let uninformed fans or his terrible analytics dept talk him into a big overpay,
I’m less concerned about the dollars than I am about the term. If they have to overpay on an AAV basis to get him for 2 years and a club option, so be it. He absolutely has value the next two seasons and the young guys are all still cheap. But knowing how cheap and incompetent ownership and the FO are, they’ll probably end up giving him a 4 year deal at a “bargain” AAV so Jerry thinks he’s getting his money’s worth
Abreu should haven taken the QO. He’s not getting a “longterm” contract from a club well stocked with younger, cheaper replacements. If he agrees to a full time DH role, 2 yrs/26MM seems reasonable.
Jose Abreu may yet take the $17.8MM QO by next Thursday’s deadline.
I also believe “Long-Term” was a poor headline term based on the Jeff Passan tweet which was also off the mark. I’ve seen little speculation regarding an Abreu contract beyond two years and a potential option which would hardly be construed by most as a long term deal. This site predicted a 2yrs./$28MM contract for Abreu and I believe those numbers or yours will be “in the ballpark” with an added option year also in play.
What if we are looking at the term “long-term” all wrong? It’s obvious him and the White Sox have a great relationship and the Sox really love having him around especially with the younger Latin talent we have. What if the long term is you play with us until Collins, Sheets, Burger, or Vaughn is ready to take over full time then you retire and step into the front office as assistant to the GM. They could put him over Latin relations and player development.
A long term contract for a PLAYER in the MLB means four or more years +- one year. Contextually, the writer’s suggesting that a long term contract might be in the works, which wouldn’t make much sense from the White Sox’s perspective. That said, what you are saying is exactly what could happen; Abreu could sign a 2 year contract, then retire and join the organization. But that’s a different discussion for another day.
@bliss Sounds reasonable. I like him maybe as a scout?
Jose Abreu has a great chance to become the White Sox ‘ambassador’ following his retirement. He could very well assume the role that belonged to fellow Cuban Minnie Minoso until he passed away in 2015. Minoso was nicknamed the ‘Cuban Comet’ but was also regarded as ‘Mr. White Sox’ in Chicago, similar to the honor bestowed upon ‘Mr. Cub’ Ernie Banks.
Btw: Minoso and Abreu had a strong relationship that began with the former helping recruit the latter when he was a highly sought international FA in the fall of 2013 following his defection from Cuba. In addition to Minoso, White Sox Cuban teammates Dayan Viciedo and Alexei Ramirez were also involved in the recruiting process. Abreu and Yoan Moncada continued that tradition with the recruitment of top White Sox prospect Luis Robert two years ago.
The White Sox have had a tremendous history with Cuban players over the years including two pitcher in Jose Contreras and Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernández who were integral parts of the White Sox pitching staff and rotation during their 2005 championship season.
There are two significant Cubans in this winter’s FA class who might be of interest to the White Sox as well, C Yasmani Grandal and RF Yasiel Puig. Grandal could provide the White Sox with the core backstop they currently seem to lack in their system. Meanwhile, Puig could fill the RF black hole on the Southside, at least on a temporary basis for the 2020 season.
Grandal will cost you $100,000,000 or so. I doubt CHW signs him.
No team will approach that number for free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal this offseason This site projects him for a 4yrs/$68MM contract with the Reds as his new team. (mlbtraderumors.com/2019/11/mlb-free-agent-predicti…)
If you’re suggesting the White Sox need to overpay Grandal with a $100MM offer you are way “off-base”.
You know, the OP just made me realize something. The reason why teams like the White Sox or any team in the midwest region never get star free agents has nothing to do with money. The reality is, top players aren’t coming to these teams for ANY amount of money. Whether they’re being swayed by their agents, familly/friends or discouraged by other teams and the national sports media is unclear. What I do know is star players always leave midwestern teams and head to coastal teams. The reverse NEVER happens. Star players never leave coastal teams to come to Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati or Detroit. I hope I’m proven wrong at some point, but I truly believe the league has a culture problem, not a salary cap or financial problem, as I once thought. So basically, if you’re a midwestern baseball fan, you can forget about ever getting a star player coming to your team from some other franchise. It has never happened, and it never will.
Jon Lester. Adam Dunn. Prince Fielder. Victor Martinez. Ben Zobrist. Yu Darvish. Jordan Zimmermann…
Paul goldshmidt resigned after a trade.
I’ll concede the point on Fielder, who is a rare exception. Zimmermann is debatable. Detroit has gotten more that its fair share of FAs over the years. The rest of the players you mentioned were past their prime, and not elite stars by any means.
Jon Lester was in his prime when he left Boston to join the Chicago Cubs. His decision had as much to do with his Theo Epstein Boston connection and perhaps newly hired manager John Maddon as it did with dollars with the Red Sox and Cubs being the two finalists for his services in the 2014/2015 FA class.
Few MLB fans would consider Adam Dunn, Ben Zobrist, Yu Darvish and Jordan Zimmermann as ‘star’ players. When Dunn was actually a prolific slugger and a defensively challenged OF he was also primarily a Cincinnati Red before being signed as a free agent by the ‘East Coast’ Washington Nationals where he began a slide that hit rock bottom on the southside of Chicago.
Zobrist had been a solid hitter and versatile player but hardly what anybody would consider a ‘star’. He spent most of his career in small market Tampa, got traded to two more small market teams in Oakland and Kansas City before finally signing as a 34-year old FA with the Cubs.
Darvish might have had more star power coming over from Japan before agreeing to a huge international FA contract with the Texas Rangers. He got traded to the Dodgers who decided they were no longer interested in him as a domestic FA following his 3 months and World Series ‘meltdown’ with LA in 2017.
Zimmermann was a nice inning eater TOR with the Nats for 4 seasons before signing as a FA bust with the Tigers. I wouldn’t have called him a ‘star’ ace however.
Martinez and Fielder could have been considered star hitters but both had their roots with midwest teams in Cleveland and Milwaukee before signing as FA’s with another heartland club in Detroit. A trade from Cleveland had Martinez spending a year-and-a half in Boston before he inked two FA deals with the Tigers to finish his injury riddled career. Fielder never played for a coastal team having played in Milwaukee and Detroit before being traded to the Rangers where he finished his career prematurely due to a career ending neck injury.
Thanks Prunella Volgaris and AaronSapoznik. Good stuff. I remember now.
Non elite hitter that has a career .293 average and hits 30+ homers a year and led the league in RBI’s.
But none of that matters to the new school nerds. What’s his bapip his ops and his wubba?
Accepting the QO makes a ton of sense if Abreu is willing to bet on himself a bit.
I mean JD Martinez is a FAR superior hitter and even he/Boras didn’t think he could best 3/$60M. Carlos Santana got 3/$60M too, but he is a much better hitter and defender. The tier below Abreu(guys like Moreland,Smoak…etc) get tiny 2/$14M deals. The best comp is probably Khris Davis‘s 2/$34M extension, but once again he was a better hitter and was a few years younger.
If I am Abreu, I would literally cry myself to sleep over the injustice that Eric Hosmer is getting $100M+ more than me despite being substantially worse(or even Brandon Belt’s $50M+ extra)
My guess is Abreu ends up with something like 2/$26M with maybe Hahn giving him a 3rd year mutual/vesting option for being an excellent soldier during the rebuild. Abreu is one of those interesting FA where the QO makes him FAR more valuable to the White Sox than any other team. If you assume the draft pick is worth $13M(probably low), the White Sox can get 2 years of Abreu for the same “cost” as a 1-year deal would “cost” any other team.
I like Abreu and all, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing if he declined the QO and went elsewhere for a year. The Sox could throw that money saved at FAs who aren’t coming to Chicago anyway. The extra draft pick helps a little, too.
Part of being a leader is demonstrating to young players what they will experience in the near future. Abreu takes the QO, whether the contract is extended or not, gets a raise and helps protect the team. Next year, same thing.
Nobody wants to be a cling on, or fall into the same trap as far too many past mistakes have crippled teams’ payroll while softening players.
We will see what the terms of this deal will be but this will likely be a massive mistake. Everyone is referencing his past stats but that is not what you pay for when he’s an unathletic 33 year old DH in year 1 of his new contract.
They could give him 1 yr $5 mil and half the posters on here would act like it was the worst contract in the history of baseball.
Any contract that they would realistically offer wouldn’t be a “massive” mistake. It’d take something completely out of nowhere and significantly above market value in terms of dollars AND years to be a massive mistake.
For the last 6 years, Jose Abreu has quietly had the best overall offense of all 1B in the AL. Historically, players decline sharply at the age 33.5. Abreu begins 2020 33 years of age. This is a tough decision for the rebuilding ChiSox.
Good to see some of the less knowledgeable fans previously fooled by his unsustainable BABIP come to their senses on McCann and admit to needing a real C.
Hope Hahn and Co do as well.
They have far bigger holes. At worst, McCann is a good receiver.
No. He isn’t.
Just because bidding war players show up in FA doesn’t mean the guys we have aren’t good enough for where we are right now. I do think we’ll get a catcher, and have my eyes on d’Arnaud.
I was hoping the White Sox would let Abreu go, Then he could go to a contending team like Eaton and Sale and win a ring. or a least one with a winning record.
I’m sure this came up when White Sox traded Sale and began their official rebuild, but that was years ago.
The overpay QO is a generous parting gift this season for Abreu. Hope they go bold and at least offer Rendon bulk of the 250 guaranteed they had in mind for MM last offseason/shift Moncada to RF hole in that 1 scenario. That makes for a stellar lineup……..and allocate other $ for pitching.