Abreu ‘impatient' to join Sox camp after positive COVID test

Share

In true José Abreu fashion, it's not his positive COVID-19 test that's bothering him the most. It's that he can't go to work.

The guy constantly lauded for his work ethic and role-model nature inside the White Sox clubhouse isn't feeling great at the moment. But it's not because he's feeling COVID-19; general manager Rick Hahn said the reigning AL MVP is "completely asymptomatic." It's because spring training is here, the dawn of a 2021 season the White Sox enter with World Series aspirations, and Abreu isn't.

"I talked to him yesterday morning," manager Tony La Russa said Wednesday, "and I commented that I heard growling, which I now realize was him, like a lion in the cage. He's raring to go.

"He's going to be so anxious to go to work we're going to have to tie a rope around him (to slow him down)."

RELATED: 'Six-tool player' Luis Robert starts Year 2 with new Trout comp

Even Hahn's initial update Wednesday morning, which revealed that the team leader Abreu will be kept away from White Sox camp for the next several days following his positive test, mentioned how frustrated Abreu is that he can't be with his teammates during the early days of spring training.

As for when Abreu might be able to reunite with his team, La Russa pointed to a potentially brief absence, suggesting the first baseman could be in camp as early as Friday before saying Monday could perhaps be a more realistic outcome.

"Clearly, it's always about health first," La Russa said. "He's got to take care of himself on the health front first, and our team also needs him to take care of himself.

"But the other thing that you look at is, if he can come back Friday, or maybe Monday — Monday is March 1 — we've got a month. So the good fortune, if there is a good fortune, is it's at the beginning of the camp."

Indeed, even a somewhat abbreviated spring shouldn't be much of a concern for the uber-consistent Abreu. He won the MVP thanks to a career year, but that career year didn't look all that dissimilar from a regular Abreu season.

But this is COVID-19, and there's no telling what kind of effect it will have on any individual who gets the disease. The 25-year-old Yoán Moncada, who experienced only mild symptoms at first, spent Tuesday talking about the ceaseless effects of his COVID-19 infection last season, the aftereffects presenting a "daily battle" to muster the energy to do just about anything. Freddie Freeman, the 31-year-old Atlanta Braves first baseman, had a harrowing bout with the virus last summer, describing a fever north of 104 degrees and that he prayed for his life. Then he put together baseball's other MVP season, matching Abreu with the NL version of the award.

The reports from Hahn and La Russa are that Abreu is feeling great, physically, which is obviously tremendous news for the White Sox. While there are numerous integral pieces to this championship-caliber roster, Abreu means so much, both on the field as someone who constantly delivers when the White Sox need him to, and off the field as someone who serves as a mentor to young players and a clubhouse leader.

In other words, once Abreu arrives, then White Sox camp can really begin.

"When he walks in the door, it's going to be a huge moment for the 2021 White Sox," La Russa said, "because the guys can't wait to see him and he can't wait to see them.

"He's impatient, which he's supposed to be. But I told him, there's time to get him ready."

Click here to subscribe to the White Sox Talk Podcast for free.

Contact Us