The Chicago White Sox had decent success in the division this season, but a new report on Jose Abreu may change the team dynamic moving forward.
The Chicago White Sox had decent success in the division this season, finishing second in the division to the Cleveland Guardians with an even .500 winning percentage. They didn’t make it to the playoffs, so there’s certainly still room to improve. However, they may be taking steps backward in preparation for next season.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reportedly shared the White Sox plan on parting ways with Abreu during the offseason, according to a Tweet from Daniel Greenberg.
The White Sox had many flaws in their lineup this season, but Abreu was a huge contributor to any success. He won’t be easy to replace, and they’re going to need to find a first baseman that can play as well as he has if they want to maintain what success they’ve had over the past few seasons.
They’re probably focusing on roster construction anyway, but this could hurt the team a lot.
White Sox are probably focusing on roster construction but may take a step backward
Their lineup this season was a bit unpredictable this season. They had both some of the best and some of the worst stats. For example, they had the fifth-best batting average of the league (.256) but the 13th-worst slugging percentage (.387), OPS (.698) and on-base percentage (.310).
Abreu brought power that the lineup overall lacked. He had, all around, the best hitting stats on the team at .304/.378/.446 for an OPS of .824. Sure, there are better hitters in the league, but he’s still above average and has consistently been a solid player for the White Sox when they’ve needed it.
He’s been with Chicago since 2014 and helped bring the team to two consecutive playoffs in 2020 and 2021, the first two seasons in franchise history that they have ever made back-to-back playoffs.
If Abreu does decide to follow free agency, the White Sox could be in trouble.