By the end of an even-split season for the Chicago White Sox, it seemed the team needed to reach a deal with now-free agent Jose Abreu to retain a consistent starter at first base.
According to New York Post columnist Jon Heyman, the Sox could see a new face at the first starting as soon as next season.
“The White Sox are planning to move (outfielder) Andrew Vaughn to his natural position of first base,” Heyman said last Wednesday. “Though they are leaving the door open to longtime star Jose Abreu, the likelihood seems to be that he will go to a new team.”
The 24-year-old played 261 games for the White Sox after he was selected with the third overall pick in the 2019 MLB amateur draft. Andrew Vaughn started in all but four of the his 134 games last season, the third-most on the team, while tying with shortstop Elvis Andrus for the White Sox's sixth-highest batting average at .271 and leading the South Side franchise in home runs with 17.
Though new White Sox manager Pedro Grifol called Abreu a player “all 30 managers want to see in their lineup,” there has been no news of the first baseman's contract talks with the White Sox since he told the media he wanted to return to baseball in 2023 and that discussions have not taken place between him and the Sox last month.
The three-time All Star accepted a $17.8 million qualifying deal in 2019 before eventually reaching a three-year, $50 million fully guaranteed agreement to stay with the Sox one week later. The deal included a $5 million signing bonus and a full no-trade clause in the contract's first year, according to Spotrac. Abreu earned an extra $115,000 in incentives from winning AL MVP and the Silver Slugger Award in 2020.
Abreu remained on the “top of the wish list” for a North Side rival in the Chicago Cubs, according to 670 The Score.
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