Both the Chicago White Sox and Jose Abreu have fallen on hard times, performance-wise, since going their separate ways after the 2022 season.
The legendary first baseman signed with the Houston Astros after the White Sox decided to make Andrew Vaughn the everyday first baseman. Since then, the Sox have lost 153 games.
While Vaughn so far has failed to play great at an iconic position for the Sox, Abreu is now looking for a job after the Astros released the former AL MVP.
The Houston Astros released first baseman José Abreu. He is owed more than $30 million on the free agent deal he signed last year.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 14, 2024
It looks like Father Time caught up with Abreu as he was having a terrible season. He posted a .124/.167/.195 slash line with two home runs and is a -1.5 fWAR. He was struggling so badly this season he took a demotion to Houston's Florida Complex League team. Even a trip back to the Astros' spring training facility was not enough to turn his season around.
If only he was still playing for Sox manager Pedro Grifol, or even better, at catcher for Grifol, then he might still have a job. The Sox still have Martin Maldonado getting starts there and he has even worse hitting numbers than Abreu. Maybe Abreu would get the same absurd defense of his struggles as Grifol has given Maldonado.
Here’s Pedro Grifol on not pinch-hitting for Martín Maldonado in a couple of scoring chances in today’s game: pic.twitter.com/2zqD2NYvJy
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) June 9, 2024
Just another example of why the Sox continue to contend for the worst record in baseball history over a 162-game season. Meanwhile, Houston gives a veteran enough time to turn things around and when it is not happening, they cut that player loose. That is another example of a franchise that keeps making the playoffs and is slowly resurrecting a season that looked lost.
Abreu will always be a legend on the Southside.
He played nine seasons for the Sox, most of them during the team's first attempt at a rebuild last decade. There were times during his tenure from 2014-2022 that he was the only player worth watching.
He posted a career .292/.354/.506 slash line for Chicago. His career 243 home runs for the Sox ranks him third all-time. He is fifth all-time in club history in OPS.
Abreu won the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year and the AL MVP during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He was so good during that short season that he probably would have won it had the season gone a full 162 games. Abreu made three All-Star teams and won three Silver Slugger Awards.
Granted his numbers are not Hall of Fame worthy. What makes him a legend is that he was so darn good during some really poor times for the franchise. He finally made the playoffs in his seventh season as the Sox snapped a 12-year postseason drought.
Putting the legend label on him may seem lofty, but those were some dark days for the franchise. It was understood that the Sox were going to do some losing toward the end of the last decade. At least, Sox fans had Abreu to watch. Plus, he did a wonderful job taking over first base after Paul Konerko, another team legend, manned that position for years.
Some are calling for him to return to the White Sox. That should be a hard no as the White Sox do not need any more declining veteran players and Andrew Vaughn has been playing better as of late.
The only time Abreu should return to Guaranteed Rate Field is on the day they hopefully retire his number.