White Sox: Jose Abreu Finalist for Hank Aaron Award

Jose Abreu is a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award. The award goes to the best offensive player from each league.

Jose Abreu had another phenomenal season in a Chicago White Sox uniform. And hopefully that can culminate in a Hank Aaron Award. The slugging first baseman is one of 15 American League finalists. The winner will be announced during the World Series. Fans will have a chance to vote for the award, as well. Fans can vote on MLB.com or their team site.

Abreu hit .303 with 33 home runs and 102 RBIs. Those are his best numbers since his rookie season. He also became the third player in MLB history to record 25 home runs and 100 RBIs in his first four seasons. That definitely puts him in elite company and shows how important he is for this organization.

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Since the White Sox signed him, he has been everything they hoped for. He’s only made the All-Star team once but his numbers have been solid year in and year out. He’s hitting .301 for his career and has a career WAR of 16.9. His WAR this season was 4.7. The only season it’s been higher was his rookie season when it was 5.5.

Abreu made is clear he wants to be on this team for the long haul. That means being there when they’re ready to compete in the next few years. There’s no doubt any team would love to have his bat in their lineup. But the organization values his leadership. He’s a great mentor for guys like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez. He even picked up Moncada at the airport after he promoted to the Sox this past summer.

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It’s important we don’t undervalue his leadership. This is a young club and he’s one of the veteran guys in the locker room. He is under team control for two more seasons and he could get a hefty raise in arbitration during the offseason. We’ll see what Rick Hahn has in mind for his slugger but it would be a huge surprise if he wasn’t in a White Sox uniform next season.