Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu’s leadership will be important

The Chicago White Sox are going to need someone to step up and lead the way when baseball returns and Jose Abreu should lead the way.

The Chicago White Sox are in a good spot. They are on pause because the coronavirus has shut down the United States and thus Major League Baseball. They had all of the hype going into the season which is nice and all but they are going to need to try and get that swagger back when they return. Their roster is much improved and ready to win so coming back with a good attitude is very important.

One player who can lead the charge on getting the White Sox players in the right mindset is Jose Abreu. He is an elite player on the field but he has assumed the role of the leader of the clubhouse. He is one of the elder statesmen on the team now as it largely a very young roster. There are also not many players who have been around the organization longer than Abreu. If they are going to come out of the gate strong when baseball returns, he needs to have a big part of it.

Abreu’s leadership can easily be vocal. It can also be by example. He goes out and does his very best every single game. The numbers show that to be the case as well. In 2019, he won the American League RBI title with 123 RBIs and he also had 33 home runs. It was a great year for Abreu on the field and one that he is trying to duplicate in 2020 if baseball is played. Obviously, if they play fewer games then the totals will be down but they will still be good relative to the number of contests he participates in.

If Abreu can help guys like Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, and Luis Robert take the next step by leading the way then this year will be a win. They may or may not be a playoff team this season but that isn’t really the most important thing. The most important thing is that the core players develop and with Abreu’s leadership, that might happen. If all of those things happen, team success will follow.