The 10 most important White Sox in 2019: No. 8 Jose Abreu

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During his first four years in a White Sox uniform, Jose Abreu was Mr. Reliable.

He could very well still be that as he enters what could end up his final year on the South Side, but thanks to an uncharacteristic and unusual 2018 campaign, he needs to show he's still the same guy he's always been.

Abreu. Albert Pujols. Joe DiMaggio. Following the 2017 season, those were the only three players in baseball history to start their careers with four straight seasons of at least 25 home runs and at least 100 RBIs. Abreu was in elite company. But he failed to reach those numbers in 2018, in part because of an extended slump that lasted a month and a half, during which he slashed just .180/.230/.308. Very un-Abreu-like. Though he bounced back to the point where he might have reached his usual statistical levels, the White Sox first baseman also had a couple of freak injuries at the end of the season that limited him to just six games after Aug. 20. Without those stays on the disabled list, he might have made it five straight seasons.

But it's still impossible to enter the 2019 campaign and feel anything but good about what Abreu can and should do for the White Sox. His production has been so consistent during his time in the major leagues, and even in last season's "down year," he was elected the American League's starting first baseman and won the second Silver Slugger of his career.

Changes have come for Abreu, who will be splitting his time between first base and designated hitter (even if he's not a huge fan of that latter position) thanks to the acquisition of Yonder Alonso, who will be platooning with Abreu at those two spots. Abreu seeing more time as a DH, the White Sox argue, will keep him off his feet and keep him in the lineup more often. It could also do a good job of extending his career as he's set to hit free agency at the conclusion of his age-32 season.

But that's the thing, Abreu might not even get to free agency, which would be as good an example as any of how highly the White Sox think of him and how important he is to the present and future of this franchise. Considering the glowing reviews Rick Hahn, Rick Renteria and everyone else give Abreu on a regular basis, and the role he plays as a leader and mentor for the team's young players who will one day be the stars of a planned perennial contender, all signs point to Abreu receiving an extension and sticking with the White Sox as the team makes its transition from rebuilding to contention mode.

Abreu's off-the-field attributes — he's entering a second full season of sitting next to Yoan Moncada in the home clubhouse at Guaranteed Rate Field — might be enough to earn him a spot in the team's future over the next several seasons. But if he can prove he's still capable of producing at the same levels he was before the fluky 2018 season, than that makes an extension all the more attractive to the White Sox. Not to mention it's all the rage with players set to hit the free-agent market after this season; Nolan Arenado, Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, Aaron Hicks and Miles Mikolas have already signed extensions this offseason that preempted their impending free agency. Could Abreu be next?

Regardless of his contract status, an Abreu in a very different lineup — one with Jon Jay at the top, Alonso batting behind Abreu and Eloy Jimenez even further down the line — should find plenty of opportunities to get back to the level of production he was at in his first four major league campaigns. And if he can do that, the White Sox will be in a better spot in the standings. If he keeps doing what he's always done off the field, the White Sox will be in a better spot for the long haul.

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