Jose Abreu can be an MVP-level player again in 2022

Jose Abreu has been one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball for a little under a decade now. He is starting to get more recognition for that fact as the years go along but he has always been great. Chicago White Sox fans have seen it first hand since 2014 when he made his MLB debut.

It wasn’t easy to replace a legend like Paul Konerko at first base but Abreu has been great. In fact, although not many can be as beloved as Pauly, you can argue that Abreu is the better player. He is everything that you want in a leader, a middle-of-the-order hitter, and a first baseman.

2020 was the best year of his Major League career. It is unfortunate that it was only 60 games long because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was so good that he was the recipient of the American League MVP Award. That is a prestigious honor that only the best of the best even come close to winning.

That was also the first time that the White Sox were very good around him. He participated in the playoffs for the first time ever which was really cool to see. The White Sox were loyal to Abreu during the rebuild and he returned the favor.

The Chicago White Sox know that Jose Abreu can be a game-breaking player.

2021 came quickly and Abreu wanted to help lead the team to the promised land. Of course, he was brilliant once again. He didn’t quite have the exact same slash line but he didn’t need to in order to be considered an elite hitter. He had 30 home runs and 117 RBIs to go with 86 runs scored. It was truly a great season for the most consistent hitter on the team.

For some reason, it felt like Abreu was missing something. He was elite defensively but there were times where he didn’t look like himself. His WAR of 3.0 in 2021 is exactly the same as his 3.0 WAR from 2020 in which he only played in 60 games. He would have come down a little bit if they played 162 in 2020 but it was clear that he was on another level.

The White Sox would be thrilled if Abreu repeated his 2021 production in 2020. How can anyone argue with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBIs? However, Abreu can get to that 2020 level in 2022 and the White Sox would win even more if he did.

He played in 152 of the 162 White Sox games this season but he wasn’t always at 100 percent. He took a lot of beanballs and physical abuse on the field. The White Sox are hoping that he can stay on his feet a lot more in 2022. If he does get back to that form again, look out for him and the White Sox offense.