White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu wins American League MVP

Jose Abreu

For only the fifth time in franchise history, a White Sox player has won the American League Most Valuable Player award.

First baseman Jose Abreu received the 2020 MVP honor Thursday night, joining a short list in team history that includes Nellie Fox (1959), Dick Allen (1972) and Frank Thomas (1993-94).

Abreu has been a pillar of excellence his entire career. In five of his first six seasons with the Sox, he hit 25 or more home runs and had 100 or more RBIs. Those contributions went mostly unnoticed, as Abreu toiled for some truly terrible Sox teams.

But in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Sox turned things around. Abreu was part of a winning team for the first time, and the Sox qualified for the playoffs for the first time in his career -- that no doubt made MVP voters more likely to cast their ballot for him.

During the 60-game season, Abreu led the American League in hits (76), RBIs (60), slugging percentage (.617), total bases (148) and bWAR among position players (2.8). 

Abreu is only the fourth player in American League history to lead the league in BOTH hits and RBIs. His .317/.370/.617 slash line features career bests in all three categories. He finished with a team-best 19 home runs.

And I should add that Abreu appeared in all 60 White Sox games this season -- not a small consideration considering the injuries and illnesses that hit teams hard around the league in 2020.

For his efforts, Abreu was first on 21 of the 30 MVP ballots. Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians got eight first-place votes and finished second. DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees got one first-place vote and finished third.

Among other Sox players, Tim Anderson finished seventh. He got one third-place vote. Pitcher Dallas Keuchel received one 10th-place vote.

Will Jose Abreu have to take bullets for White Sox on Tony La Russa mess?

The Most Valuable Player awards for 2020 will be announced Thursday. White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is a finalist in the American League, along with Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians and DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees.

All three of these men had excellent seasons and played for teams that qualified for the playoffs. The race for this honor is too close to call, frankly, and whichever one of these players wins will be deserving. I have no prediction.

But what if Abreu wins and needs to hold a press conference Thursday?

It's worth noting that no high-profile member of the Sox organization has spoken to the media since manager Tony La Russa was charged with DUI in Arizona earlier this week.

Jerry Reinsdorf, the man who created this mess by hiring La Russa, has remained silent. Nothing from general manager Rick Hahn, either, and certainly nothing from La Russa himself.

It's unfortunate that circumstances are set up to where Abreu -- who has been nothing but a good player and has represented the organization with class and pride during his seven years with the Sox -- might have to be the one who faces the media firing squad first to answer questions about the La Russa debacle.

If Abreu wins this award, he would be only the fourth Sox player in team history to achieve the honor -- and the first since Frank Thomas in 1994.

It would be one of his career highlights, and a historic moment in the history of the franchise. But it would be soiled because of this La Russa mess, and because the cowardly 85-year-old billionaire who owns the Sox doesn't feel he needs to answer for his decision-making.

This whole thing just stinks.

Jose Abreu, Luis Robert, Rick Renteria among finalists for postseason awards

Jose Abreu

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is a finalist for American League Most Valuable Player. Center fielder Luis Robert is a finalist for Rookie of the Year, and former manager Rick Renteria is a finalist for Manager of the Year.  

The BBWAA award finalists were announced on MLB Network on Monday night. 

Abreu seems to be the most likely of these three people to win. The other MVP finalists are Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez and New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of these three players: 

LeMahieu: .364/.421/.590, 10 HRs, 10 2Bs, 27 RBIs, 3 SBs 

Abreu: .317/.370/.617, 19 HRs, 15 2Bs, 60 RBIs, 0 SB 

Ramirez: .292/.386/.607, 17 HRs, 16 2Bs, 46 RBIs, 10 SB 

Abreu led the league in hits with 76. His RBIs and slugging percentage also were league-leading totals. LeMahieu led the league in both batting average and on-base percentage. Ramirez topped the AL with 45 runs scored. 

Robert's competition for the Rookie of the Year award includes Seattle Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis and Houston Astros pitcher Cristian Javier. 

Here's a side-by-side comparison of these three players: 

Lewis: .262/.364/.437, 11 HRs, 3 2Bs, 28 RBIs, 5 SBs 

Robert: .233/.302/.436, 11 HRs, 12 2Bs, 31 RBIs, 9 SBs 

Javier: 5-2, 3.48 ERA, 12 games (10 starts), 54.1 IP, 36 H, 54 Ks, 18 BBs 

I think what hurts Robert here is his ice-cold September. He was hitting .298 when August ended, but then he hit .136 the rest of the season. Lewis might very well win because he didn't have a prolonged slump like that. 

Renteria is a finalist for Manager of the Year along with Charlie Montoyo of the Toronto Blue Jays and Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays. Cash led his club to a 40-20 record and an AL pennant. Montoyo's team got into the playoffs despite having to play its home games in Buffalo. Renteria went 35-25, but got fired after the Sox blew the AL Central the last week of the season and made a quick exit from the playoffs. 

I'm assuming Renteria finishes third.

Yolmer Sanchez wins Gold Glove for AL second baseman, other White Sox notes

Yolmer Sanchez

Second baseman Yolmer Sanchez became the first White Sox position player in 21 years to win a Gold Glove earlier this week, beating out Houston's Jose Altuve and New York's DJ LeMahieu for the American League award at his position.

The Sox have had their fair share of Gold Gloves won by pitchers -- Mark Buehrle and Jake Peavy -- but no South Side position player had won the award since Robin Ventura took top honors at third base in 1998.

This might have been Sanchez's first and last chance to win a Gold Glove. He's a non-tender candidate this offseason because of his weak bat, and even if the Sox do bring him back at a reduced salary, he probably won't be the everyday second baseman anymore -- especially with Nick Madrigal waiting in the wings.

Of course, it's possible Sanchez leaves the Sox, catches on with another rebuilding team, wins a starting job and earns another Gold Glove. But the guess here is this was his one and only hurrah.

Abreu gets qualifying offer

First baseman Jose Abreu received the one-year, $17.8 million qualifying offer from the Sox. He has 10 days to accept it, or become a free agent.

That would be a more-than-fair salary for Abreu, but I'm thinking he would like a multiyear deal. The Sox may very well give one to him, but it probably will be for less AAV.

I'm guessing two years, $25 million. Does that seem fair for a soon-to-be-33-year-old slugger who is productive but one-dimensional?

Martinez staying in Boston

For those who were hoping the Sox could sign J.D. Martinez to be their DH for next season, your hopes are dashed.

Martinez opted in to the three years and $62 million remaining on his contract with the Boston Red Sox.

A smart move by Martinez, in my view. Even though Martinez remains an elite run producer, there probably aren't more than three or four teams looking for a DH this offseason (the Sox, obviously, are one.).

I'm not sure Martinez would able to get better, either in terms of years or in AAV on the open market, with so few likely suitors.

Yolmer Sanchez, Lucas Giolito finalists for Gold Glove award

Yolmer Sanchez

One bit of White Sox news from this week that I neglected to mention: Second baseman Yolmer Sanchez and pitcher Lucas Giolito are finalists for the Gold Glove award in the American League.

Sanchez was expected to be a finalist, and he may even win the award. With 12 defensive runs saved this season, he has the edge over fellow finalists DJ LeMahieu (5 defensive runs saved) of the New York Yankees and Jose Altuve (-2 defensive runs saved) of the Houston Astros.

I'm thinking Altuve is a finalist for this award because he's a terrific hitter on a great team. What does that have to do with the Gold Glove, a defensive honor? Absolutely nothing, but we've see guys win Gold Gloves because of name recognition and offensive prowess before.

LeMahieu is a terrific overall player, but he made only 66 starts at second base. Because of his versatility, the Yankees used him all over the diamond. He played first base in the playoffs, so from that perspective, I'd be a little surprised if he gets an award for his defense at second base.

So, yes, I think Sanchez has a very good chance.

I'd be a little more surprised if Giolito wins the award. I didn't expect him to be a finalist, but hey, the guy who usually wins the Gold Glove for pitchers in the AL (Dallas Keuchel) pitches in the National League now. Somebody else has to win.

Giolito joins Seattle's Mike Leake and Minnesota's Jose Berrios as finalists. I don't necessarily think of Giolito as being great at defending his position, but if I had to make a case for him, there is this: Only six base runners attempted to steal against him in 2019, and three of them got thrown out. By way of comparison, 26 of 30 base runners were successful in attempting to steal against Giolito in 2018.

He really cleaned his game up when it came to holding runners close and not allowing guys to just take another 90 feet at will. Giolito improved in several facets in 2019, and that is one. We'll see if it translates into Gold Glove votes.

2 White Sox players finish atop American League leaderboard

Tim Anderson

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu for making White Sox history this season.

Anderson, who hit .240 during the 2018 season, pretty much shocked the baseball world by winning the 2019 American League batting title. He finished the year at .335, comfortably ahead of the New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu, who batted .327.

There are only two other players in Sox history who have won a batting title, Luke Appling (1936, 1943) and Frank Thomas (1997), so Anderson is joining select company.

Abreu, meanwhile, totaled a career-high 123 RBIs to lead the American League. Kansas City's Jorge Soler and Boston's Xander Bogaerts finished second with 117 RBIs each.

This marks the first time a Sox player has led the AL in RBIs since Dick Allen did it in 1972. In other words, it has happened in my lifetime (which spans 43 years).

I've heard some fans grump that they don't care about "these individual accomplishments," and while I agree that team success is more important, and while I agree that the losing on the South Side of Chicago has grown tiresome, I also have an appreciation for baseball history and White Sox history when I see it.

We don't see Sox hitters lead the league in significant categories too often, so I see no harm in extending congratulations to Anderson and Abreu for the seasons they had at the plate.