Jose Abreu deserves to win, but when the White Sox contend in a couple years, will it be past his prime?
He is in his prime now and it should not be wasted on a rebuilding White Sox team. So where should Abreu go?
As someone who’s had the pleasure of watching Jose Abreu throughout his entire White Sox career, and as a fan of how he plays the game, it’s especially hard for me to watch him waste his near MVP numbers on a team in a full-scale rebuild.
Yes, the Sox are only two or three years out of competing, but by then Abreu would be approaching 35 years of age. Who knows if he’ll be able to keep up the slash line he holds now. As a guy who’s been on a non-contending team his entire professional career, he deserves to win.
I bet if you ask him, Abreu would prefer to stay. I bet if you ask Rick Hahn, he would prefer Abreu to stay. But in this business, no one is untouchable unless your name is Mike Trout or Max Scherzer.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to see Abreu go. But if he had to, there are a few moves I have in mind to ensure Abreu has the best chances to win today and we have the best chances to win tomorrow.