5 popular moves the Chicago White Sox should make in the offseason
By Todd Welter
The Chicago White Sox have renewed hope after hiring a new manager. Pedro Grifol plans to improve the Sox play in 2023 and reinvigorate hopes that the Southsiders can win a World Series.
After a disappointing and frustrating 2022 season, the White Sox still have some work to do to make good with the fanbase.
The Sox faithful had to sit through two years of manager Tony La Russa squandering prime contention years with how he ran the organization.
General manager Rick Hahn should not be guided by making moves to make the Chicago White Sox fans happy. He could make a few moves that would benefit both the team and please White Sox supporters.
The Chicago White Sox should re-sign Jose Abreu.
Abreu has been a mainstay in the Sox lineup since 2014. During the lean years, he was one of the few reasons to watch White Sox baseball. He is a three-time All-Star and won the 2020 MVP on the Southside.
His tenure could be coming to an end with the White Sox. It does not mean he will be leaving Chicago. The Cubs are reported to have interest in bringing Abreu over to the Northside.
That would be painful to see a southside mainstream wearing red and blue.
Abreu departing the Chicago White Sox makes sense. The Sox have a redundancy of players who fit the first base/designated hitter mold in Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, Jake Burger, and Yasmani Grandal. In addition, Eloy Jimenez would better serve the team being the everyday DH.
It is going to be tough for Grifol to find enough at-bats for those five, let alone a player like Abreu who will be 36 next season.
Letting him walk because of age and roster issues is why Abreu most likely will not be back.
Here is the thing, Abreu still has not declined like his age would suggest. Fangraphs projects Abreu to hit .276 with 22 homes and have a wRC+ of 126. Abreu’s power numbers were down in 2022 with just 15 homers but he had a .304 average and 137 wRC+.
Rick Hahn can easily figure out the roster issue by trading Sheets or Burger. We will get to what he can do with Grandal in a moment. Moving at least three of the five redundant players would open at-bats for the long-time White Sox star.
It is wishful thinking, but it would be like when the White Sox surprisingly brought Paul Konerko back in the 2010 offseason. Fans loved it.