Jose Abreu in Houston thread

[JoeC]

1 minute ago, Vote4Pedro said:

Still can trade Vaughn and have Sheets or Burger play 1B….have plenty of options there ?

Yep.

Years of hoarding 1B / DH types will finally pay off.

[Jerksticks]

2 minutes ago, JoeC said:

Yep.

Years of hoarding 1B / DH types will finally pay off.

Bout time.  Burger was born to be a late inning 1B defensive replacement

[Chisoxfn]

19 minutes ago, Texsox said:

AV is finally playing his usual position. So there is cause for optimism. 

 

I think it's a step down for the Sox but a great opportunity for Jose and Houston. I hope he wins a championship with them. Defecting in his late 20s (or so) probably will prevent him from compiling HoF numbers, but projecting backwards he probably would have at least garnered some attention. 

The king is dead, long live the king. 

The biggest thing is - he can really focus on developing his bat and just refining himself at 1B. Trying to spend an off-season learning a new position was not easy and likely took a toll on other avenues of his development.  With that said - I would imagine in the long run it will make him a better, more dynamic fielder at 1B (and if nothing else increases some of his positional flexibility in the long run).

With that said - the Sox having Vaughn / Jimenez primarily at 1B/DH and replacing the two of them (+ Sheets) with average (better yet good) defenders - will in my opinion have a more significant impact than we think.  Having that many innings played in LF / RF by Sheets/Vaughn/Eloy who are literally 3 of the 10 worst defensive outfielders in baseball is just malpractice - especially when you have a strong rotation (if you are going to win with strong pitching - make sure you surround them with some defense).  

Now to hope that we see some legit moves that show they are going to add quality defenders to the outfield (ideally who are decent enough hitters to boot).  

[JoshPR]

He's gone. He served his purpose and only can wish Jose the best. It was time to move on. Now I'm on the bellinger/colas/Robert outfield Tripp lately. As for a 2nd baseman i want good defense. Need to improve the defense. Wouldn't be opposed to Cueto coming back for a yr or 2 at a decent price. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by JoshPR

[JoeCredeYes]

17 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

They're grown men. Leadership in professional sports is most often shown by example. Abreu busted his ass, never stopped working, and improved multiple areas of his game over the course of a great career with the Sox.

What has been so dysfunctional before LaRussa? The rebuild teams and Renteria teams played their asses off. There were stories of guys like Eloy and Yoan riding with Abreu to the facility at like 5am to train with him.

Blaming one grown man (who is a peer) for the underperformance of other grown men is beyond odd. There was no question how hard Jose worked, and that's the best leadership anyone can show around their peers. 

Have you entirely forgotten about the debacle of the 2016 Chicago White Sox? 

I'm not blaming one grown man, simply asking the question of where is the substance behind the claim of leadership?  If you think leading by example is the BEST that a leader can do, then I can see where you're coming from, I just don't agree that setting the example is the ultimate form of leadership. 

[elrockinMT]

The Sox made a mistake by not keeping Jose. He was the team leader IMO and a very good player. There was no reason not to offer Jose the money Houston gave him. But, it does seem this is the playbook the Sox go by with their best players when they hit free agency

[Dam8610]

I'm sad because I'll miss Abreu's annual clowning of Ron after he makes his annual Abreu doubting thread.

[AJ'S Cousin]

42 minutes ago, JoeC said:

Yep.

Years of hoarding 1B / DH types will finally pay off.

 

40 minutes ago, Jerksticks said:

Bout time.  Burger was born to be a late inning 1B defensive replacement

no way do i trade Vaughn he's to valuable as a defensive replacement in the outfield. LOL LOL LOL, seriously i like Vaughn over Sheets even though Sheets bats lefty. Ideally my dream would be for Moncada to move to second, Burger than at third. Jimenez to full time DH, and go get Bellinger, Mimmo or Conforto 

[Harry Chappas]

I wish they didn't let him go.

I think the lineup will be better without him.

He is not worth 3/$60M

At 36 years old I think he is a better hitter but I am not certain he will be a better power hitter.  If he does not reclaim his power that contract will be rough.  If age catches up with him it will be a bad deal.

 

 

[AJ'S Cousin]

3 minutes ago, AJ'S Cousin said:

 

no way do i trade Vaughn he's to valuable as a defensive replacement in the outfield. LOL LOL LOL, seriously i like Vaughn over Sheets even though Sheets bats lefty. Ideally my dream would be for Moncada to move to second, Burger than at third. Jimenez to full time DH, and go get Bellinger, Mimmo or Conforto 

PS, Corlas in either right or left, depending who can sign or trade for 

[SoxAce]

57 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Where is @ron883?  

 

Still cleaning up the mess he made in the bathroom. 

[Dick Allen]

With Jose and Pollock gone, the 2 White Sox who played in the most games in 2022 are gone. Of the others that played at least 100 games, Engel and Harrison are gone. The only 3 players on the White Sox roster that played in 100 MLB games last year are Vaughn, Sheets and Moncada. The new performance guy has a chance to be a hero.

[Texsox]

10 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

With Jose and Pollock gone, the 2 White Sox who played in the most games in 2022 are gone. Of the others that played at least 100 games, Engel and Harrison are gone. The only 3 players on the White Sox roster that played in 100 MLB games last year are Vaughn, Sheets and Moncada. The new performance guy has a chance to be a hero.

Good point. 

[Ducksnort]

35 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

With Jose and Pollock gone, the 2 White Sox who played in the most games in 2022 are gone. Of the others that played at least 100 games, Engel and Harrison are gone. The only 3 players on the White Sox roster that played in 100 MLB games last year are Vaughn, Sheets and Moncada. The new performance guy has a chance to be a hero.

If this team can just stay healthy they should be one of the most dominant teams in the league...

[ChiSox59]

1 hour ago, elrockinMT said:

The Sox made a mistake by not keeping Jose. He was the team leader IMO and a very good player. There was no reason not to offer Jose the money Houston gave him. But, it does seem this is the playbook the Sox go by with their best players when they hit free agency

There are a ton of reasons to not offer Jose the money Houston gave him. 

[Baron]

1 hour ago, JoshPR said:

He's gone. He served his purpose and only can wish Jose the best. It was time to move on. Now I'm on the bellinger/colas/Robert outfield Tripp lately. As for a 2nd baseman i want good defense. Need to improve the defense. Wouldn't be opposed to Cueto coming back for a yr or 2 at a decent price. 

Need to improve the defense definitely. White Sox will start Vaughn at first base. Mhmmmm. 

[shago]

1 hour ago, elrockinMT said:

He was the team leader

If you mean leading a team of low energy, underperforming, uninspired losers

[almagest]

Man I will miss Jose. Favorite Sox player from some lean years. It was time, though.

[Lip Man 1]

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

This is not better.  The Cubs suck and are no where near the playoffs.  Helping playoff teams is the opposite of what this organization needs.

The problem is though the Sox aren't close to being an elite playoff team under current ownership. Given that realty Jose' going to Houston and in essence "hurting" the Sox chances really doesn't apply. 

If they can rebound to have a winning season and hopefully contend in the central that's about as good as you can get in my opinion.

[reiks12]

The fact that the Astros and Guardians offered Jose 3 year deals tells me it was the wrong decision to let him walk. The best organizations in the game

[JoeCredeYes]

3 minutes ago, reiks12 said:

The fact that the Astros and Guardians offered Jose 3 year deals tells me it was the wrong decision to let him walk. The best organizations in the game

Is it really that simple?  They both have realistic WS aspirations and holes at 1B, he makes way more sense for them than he does for the White Sox. 

[southsider2k5]

12 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

The problem is though the Sox aren't close to being an elite playoff team under current ownership. Given that realty Jose' going to Houston and in essence "hurting" the Sox chances really doesn't apply. 

If they can rebound to have a winning season and hopefully contend in the central that's about as good as you can get in my opinion.

The problem is too many Sox fans have an irrational little brother complex when it comes to the Cubs which clouds their judgment.  Jose Abreu going to a mediocre 2nd rate team was a way better option than his signing with the world Champs . That is the bottom line.

[Chicago White Sox]

Keith Law wrote a piece on Abreu signing with the Astro’s.  Let just he’s not a fan of giving Jose the contract that they did ?

[CWSpalehoseCWS]

9 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Keith Law wrote a piece on Abreu signing with the Astro’s.  Let just he’s not a fan of giving Jose the contract that they did ?

I don’t know how anyone could be with that drop off in the power department. If he fails to top 20 HR’s, I’d be really concerned as an Astros fan. His slugging was barely over .400 for Aug/Sept/Oct.

[Stinky Stanky]

4 hours ago, Highland said:

Jose was great but it was time for him to go. Maybe that short porch in Houston will help him, but otherwise, I think his best years were behind him, and it is time to get Vaughn out of the outfield. Still, he was a real pro, and he'll be missed by fans and players alike.

He hit a lot of singles to the right of second base in 2022.  Is his bat quick enough to take advantage of that short left field?  Our own left field isn't Yankee Stadium either.