GLENDALE, Ariz. — Maybe this will be the year.
This could be the one when Jose Abreu, model teammate, dogged worker, likeable leader by example, former MVP and Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star, achieves his goal of winning a World Series with the White Sox, the only team he has played for in nine major league seasons.
The Sox are built to win, with more top players surrounding Abreu, 35, than ever before.
It’s also the final year of Abreu’s three-year, $50 million contract, and the Sox have young talents like Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets probably ready and able to take over at first base if need be. So maybe this will be Abreu’s last year as well.
It’s hard to imagine these Sox without Abreu. But speaking at spring training Wednesday for the first time this year, while saying his focus is on this season and winning a championship, he also said when the season is over he will have to assess things, see how he feels and talk with his family about his future, which isn’t necessarily bound to the Sox.
“We haven’t even started the season,” he said through translator Billy Russo when asked about his contract status. “Let’s see how the season goes and let’s see if we accomplish all the things we want to. I’m pretty sure I’m going to consult with my family, see how I’m feeling after the season, see how they’re feeling and we are going to make a decision afterward. Right now, the focus is just to enjoy this season and have fun.”
Asked if was just as determined to remain in a Sox uniform as he always has been, Abreu said, “I don’t know. We’re talking about two different years, two different situations. I have to see what happens with this season.”
“Once the season ends, I will have to make a decision and see if I want to continue or if there’s a chance to be here or if there’s a chance to be in another place. We’ll see once the season ends.”
That marked a different tone than what Abreu set in 2019 while in the final year of the six-year, $68 million deal he signed out of Cuba. Abreu felt a deep loyalty to the organization and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and a commitment to riding out the lean, losing rebuilding years long enough to enjoy the fruits of them.
“If the White Sox don’t sign me, I’m going to sign here anyway. I’m going to sign myself here,” he said at the All-Star Game in 2019.
A month later, he said chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told him and his family “several times” that he would not wear a jersey other than a Sox jersey.
When this contract is up, though, Abreu will be looking at his late 30s in the near future, although his production (30 homers, 30 doubles, 117 RBI) was admirable last season at age 34 despite drops in slugging percentage (.481 from .617) and OPS (.831 and .987) compared to his MVP 2020 season.
In any event, Abreu said he came to camp feeling good physically.
“I’ve been ready to enjoy this year and to have success and to accomplish all of the goals that we want to accomplish,” he said. “We’ll see what happens but I’m very happy to be here.
Eloy Jimenez, for one, would like that to be for a good while longer. Abreu’s presence on this team “is really important,” he said.
“Next year will have business; this year is what we need to take care of,” Jimenez said.
“I don’t know. Let’s enjoy this one,” Jimenez said when asked about the possibility of this being Abreu’s last year. “It is what it is. Let’s enjoy this one. This is the year. Let’s hope he comes back.”
