Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu takes RBI lead
With one week left in the season, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is now in sole possession of the MLB RBI lead for the 2019 season.
Jose Abreu has been a force for the Chicago White Sox all season and driving in runs at a rate now better than anyone in the game.
Abreu, 32, drove in his 120th and 121st RBI of the season on Saturday in the midst of a 3-for-5 night against the Detroit Tigers.
That now puts him ahead of Freddie Freeman (120), Anthony Rendon (119), Nolan Arenado (118), Eduardo Escobar (117), Josh Bell (116), and Pete Alonso (115).
The race for just the American League RBI leader is much less congested as Rafael Devers ranks second in that category with 112 RBI.
Essentially, unless if Abreu were to go into a major cold spell during the last week and Devers were to get red hot, Abreu likely has the AL RBI lead locked down now.
However, the major league RBI lead is definitely still up for grabs with at least four of the six NL hitters mentioned easily capable of leading the league in RBI this season.
Nonetheless, Abreu has had a phenomenal season regardless as he is hitting .282/.327/.502 with 33 homers, his career-high 121 RBI, and 35 doubles. That gives him a 118 OPS+ and 2.3 bWAR on the year.
His 2019 season, without a doubt, should help him in free agency this offseason. However, a return the White Sox certainly could be in the cards for him as it would be tough for the White Sox to replace his production elsewhere.
That being said, if J.D. Martinez were to join the White Sox as Alex Rodriguez speculated as a possibility on Sunday Night Baseball a couple of weeks ago, bringing back Abreu would possibly not make as much sense as neither is particularly good in the field. They both could use time at the designated hitter spot.
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Jose Abreu has had a great season for the Chicago White Sox whether or not he ultimately does finish as the league’s RBI leader.