José Abreu isn't ready to jump to any conclusions about the White Sox new manager.
One thing's certain, though: He has a special place in his heart for the White Sox old manager.
After winning the American League MVP Award on Thursday night, Abreu was asked about the team's recent managerial change, the White Sox swapping out Rick Renteria for Tony La Russa. The newly crowned MVP had effusive praise for Renteria, with whom he was close, while also displaying an enthusiasm to play for a Hall of Famer.
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"I cannot question if Tony is the right person for this moment or not. That is not my call," he said through team interpreter Billy Russo. "I can't say one thing or another just because people want me to say something.
"What I can say is Ricky was a great manager. He was a great person. He helped me a lot. I was pretty honored to be part of a team that he managed.
"At the same time, I'm really excited to have the chance to play for a manager like Tony La Russa. I think we have to wait to see how this goes and just wait. I can't really say much about it, but I'm excited to have a manager with the history that Tony has."
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That opinion is in line with what Abreu's teammates said last week. Speaking after winning Silver Slugger Awards, Tim Anderson and Eloy Jiménez both had good things to say about Renteria while showing a desire to learn from La Russa, citing his Hall-of-Fame resume.
Abreu thanked Renteria multiple times during his media session Thursday, also throwing a thank you the way of his first manager on the South Side, Robin Ventura.
Now he's got a third, and the expectations have never been higher during his major league career. As the MVP said, only time will tell how things go.