Chicago White Sox: Could Jose Abreu trade benefit team long-term?
The Chicago White Sox are exploring trade options for Jose Abreu. Could trading him be a good move?
A few weeks ago, I argued that Jose Abreu deserved to be in the Chicago White Sox’s long-term plans and should be re-signed if he reached free agency with the team.
At this point, though, Abreu might not last quite that long with the team.
FanRag’s Jon Heyman revealed that the Chicago White Sox have actively discussed trade offers for Abreu with multiple teams, including the Boston Red Sox. This comes after talks for the White Sox/Red Sox talks involving center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. started surfacing recently.
chisox have been in active talks with red sox and others on star 1B jose abreu. boston was 1 of 4 finalists for abreu when he signed with chicago (milwaukee & houston were the others).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 29, 2017
First off, though you’d hardly be surprised to hear it, trading away Abreu would sadden me as a Chicago White Sox fan.
His work ethic, clubhouse presence and positive example, especially for the Sox’s crop of young Latino players, are everything you want from the leader of your team.
On top of that, his consistency at the plate can’t be overstated. It’s hard to replace a guy that averages over .300, 30 home runs and 100 RBI a season, after all.
That said, however, one can’t deny that the White Sox could benefit greatly from trading Abreu if they get the right haul.
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Rick Hahn has already demonstrated his ability to flip star players for tremendous value, brightening the White Sox’s future significantly.
If you remember, he nabbed top prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech from Boston in the Chris Sale trade and pulled off what could be an enormous steal in dealing Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs for Eloy Jimenez.
And don’t forget free agent acquisitions like Cuban star Luis Robert and myriad other star prospects in the Sox organization from the draft. Quite simply Hahn has stacked the White Sox to the gills with future talent.
Trading Abreu could turn the White Sox farm system into the Cubs’ from a few years ago on steroids.
Figuratively, of course.
Next: Jose Abreu deserves to stay for long haul
I personally would love to see Abreu stick with the Chicago White Sox until his MLB career ends. What he’s already given the organization and could continue to give likely has earned such respect.
But baseball, like every other sport, is a business. And the White Sox want to build a team that can compete for a World Series sooner rather than later and do so for a long time.
As such, they have to at least explore whether or not dealing Jose Abreu helps that goal.