White Sox: Three reasons they could trade Jose Abreu
The Chicago White Sox are a young team so they need some leadership but there are three reasons they could consider trading one of their veterans.
The Chicago White Sox are a youthful team. They just signed Jose Abreu to a three-year contract extension and will bring him back after some worry that he would be on the move. He is here to be one of the leaders of the clubhouse so the young guys can learn to win with him around. He has also been a great player on the field for the White Sox since he stepped foot on a Major League Baseball diamond for the first time.
They signed him to have him in the fold for a couple of more years but you can say that if they ever wanted to trade him away there would be some good reasons why. He has been the best player on this team for a long time but obviously nothing lasts forever so if the White Sox wanted to ever move on from him they could. There are a lot of good players in the organization that could replace him in many different ways.
Obviously, the negative to losing him might outweigh some of the positives but they also might not. This isn’t likely to happen anytime soon as the White Sox will probably be as loyal to him as he has been to them. He is a fan favorite so this might not be a popular idea but they would certainly consider it if these next two seasons don’t go according to plan. If they did ever decide to move him to another team there are three reasons that they would likely use to justify a move like that:
1. Andrew Vaughn
The Chicago White Sox believe that Andrew Vaughn is their future first baseman. He is only of the top 50 prospects in all of baseball. The White Sox took him with the third overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft last June. He is a first baseman and figures to be the long term solution to the position and be a big bat in the middle of the White Sox order.
Vaughn was drafted out of the University of California. He played first base for them and was so good that he was a top baseball prospect and earned that third overall pick by the White Sox. He is the definition of a power hitter that will impact a Major League lineup one day. The thought of it being the Chicago White Sox lineup is certainly exciting.
He moved on to A ball after his college season ended where it would only take 23 games with White Sox A affiliate, the Kannapolis Intimidators. He then finished the season with their A+ affiliate in the Winston-Salem Dash. He should sore through the ranks in 2020 similar to the way Nick Madrigal and Luis Robert did in 2019. There is a good chance Vaughn sees his callup sometime during the 2021 season.
This is a reason that Abreu could be moved someday. Andrew Vaughn is almost certainly going to be the first baseman after the Jose Abreu era in Chicago is over. That is something that is nice to think about because that would mean that the White Sox went from Paul Konerko to Jose Abreu to Andrew Vaughn at first base.
2. Trade Value
Jose Abreu might never have higher trade value than he will have over the next year and a half. He is coming off a season in which he won the American League RBI title. That is no joke as he is starting to really show what he can do when there is some significant talent around him. He is still in his prime for a few more years so a true contender might pay a premium for his limited time services.
The White Sox believe that will be a contender in 2020 but they still have to go out there and prove it. There might be a team out there that has already proven it that is just a Jose Abreu level bat away from winning the World Series. A team like that might trade an A+ level prospect over to the White Sox for Abreu. The White Sox may believe they are close to a championship level team despite not proving it yet so maybe they don’t see it this way but it is definitely something to think about.
It is really hard to see a player that is 32 years old and will be 33 by Opening Day get any better. He might coast around this current elite level for a few more years but they might be smart to let him go before he starts to decline hard.
3. Money
The Chicago White Sox have lots of money. They are nowhere near the luxury tax threshold and haven’t been near it for a really long time. That doesn’t mean that they can’t be at or near it in the near future if they are not careful. They are likely not done spending this offseason with rumors of some more free agents to be signed and trades to be made.
Jose Abreu was given a large contract here. This is largely thanks to what he has done in the past as it is hard to guess what he will do in the future. The deal is 50 million dollars over the span of three years. That is a lot of a 32-year-old power hitter but he deserved to be paid big. They got the deal done after he already accepted his qualifying offer the week prior. Some people think they should have just rolled with that and seen what happens but that is not the case as they went for it.
light. Related Story. White Sox: James McCann completes league's best catcher duo
Obviously, it is a reach to say they will even trade Abreu at all during the three-year deal but some of these factors might come into play someday. There is no doubt that if Abreu stays on the White Sox for the duration of the entire three-year contract that he will see some winning times. Abreu is a player who has been so good for so long without experiencing the playoffs. Hopefully, that changes really soon.