José "Pito" Abreu stays with the White Sox for 18 million per year

November 16, 2019

After trade rumors, the Cienfuegos native accepts the proposal for the 2020 MLB season. José "Pito" Abreu stays with the White Sox for 18 million per year

José Abreu will remain with the White Sox during the 2020 season instead of testing the free agent market. The first baseman reached an agreement with the club's management to extend his contract for one more year and nearly 18 million dollars.

Abreu, 32 years old, stood out as the ideal player to offer a qualifying offer following the end of his multi-year contract.

The market for hitters who cover first base and designated hitters has deteriorated in recent years, and although some elite hitters (for example, JD Martínez) have managed to secure lucrative multi-year offers, Abreu's age worked against those desires.

There is also a rather limited number of contending clubs that could reasonably be expected to make competitive offers for a first baseman or designated hitter, which would not have done the veteran slugger any favors in seeking a new organization.

But without a doubt the Cuban has established himself in the MLB for several years now, although his numbers from last year are lower than those achieved in his first seasons in the major leagues. In 2019 he had a batting line of .284 / .330 / .503, with 33 home runs.

Through statistics such as OPS+ and wRC+ that are adjusted based on a batter's home park and the context of the entire league, they place the Cuban at 17 and 19 percent respectively. Which means that in 2019 he was better than the league average by that mentioned percentage.

The team valued him more than an external organization would have, and the club surely hopes that Abreu remains interwoven in the organization's structure in the coming years, as rumors indicate that conversations will continue throughout the year to achieve a multi-year contract. The truth is that MLB is a business and the owners surely expect Abreu's value to decrease on the market, but for the Cuban there is the opportunity to prove that age, 33 in January, is not an impediment to having a better season and pushing for a better multi-year contract starting in 2021 and thus secure his future.