Jose Abreu?

[JohnBriggs12]

He's in the final year of his deal with a team still rebuilding. He's still a potent hitter. Brewers and Sox have matched up a lot in recent seasons.

[MrTPlush]

Yah, Abreu could be a pretty solid option and shouldn’t cost all that much. Wouldn’t shock me come July if we get him.

[TURBO]

Shouldn't cost much?

 

So the sox are just going to give him to us for "not all that much?"

 

Highly doubtful.

 

If that were the case, there would be other teams in on him as well...

[pacopete4]

Doubtful that it would cost a ton. He’s been good but not great for about two years. He’s an upgrade to Aguilar for sure though.

[TURBO]

Doubtful that it would cost a ton. He’s been good but not great for about two years. He’s an upgrade to Aguilar for sure though.

 

Maybe not a ton, but far more than "not that much."

[MrTPlush]

Okay, well first off you are assuming my definition of not that much and yours are the same...probably not even close.

 

Secondly he is a rental and also is a 1st baseman. Not the most valuable thing in the world.

 

While Abreu is doing well (.840 OPS) hardly something super special for his position. Fangraphs has him at the #17 first baseman in baseball this year.

 

We may be the only NL team that lacks an elite 1st baseman. Seriously, look, the 1st baseman’s in the NL are ridiculous so far this year.

 

 

On the AL side the Astros, Rangers, and A’s are potentially possible teams if the later are still competing. I am sure a few of them may have DH problems, but that is also the easiest position to fill. The odds they get into a bidding war with a team trying to get him to play in the field is a little more unlikely as that team will naturally offer more because having them in the field too brings more value.

 

I don’t think he would cost a Top 5 guy and honestly probably not even a Top 10 guy in our weaker system.

[JosephC]

I don't think the cost on Abreu would be that great. Projecting out this year to a full season, and then taking the average bWAR/fWAR from 2017-2019, he averages out as a 2.6 WAR player per season. So, if trading for him at the end of June with half the year gone should yield a team 1.3 WAR. At 9 million per WAR that would bring the value to 11.7 million. He makes 16 million so then subtract off 8 million for the half season of pay and his surplus value is a pretty small 3.7 million. I do think the 8 million dollars pushes many teams away because the guy hasn't really been all that great a hitter when considering his position for the past 1 1/3 seasons (.264/.323/.487/.811). Aguilar over that same timeframe = .258/.342/.489/.831. Thames over that same timeframe = .223/.324/.455/.780. If the trading team picks up the entire 8 million, surplus value says that Abreu is worth 1 role-player prospect or 2 fringe-prospects. I don't think a deal like Abreu for Adam Hill and Yeison Coca would be out of the question.

[pacopete4]

And you’d be on the hook for about $8M.

[JosephC]

And that 8 million could be a big deal. If the Brewers have 10 million left to spend, dedicating 8 million could prevent them from picking up a reliever that has an annual salary of 8-9 million at the end of June (when the investment would be 4-4.5 million for 1/2 season).

 

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the White Sox would volunteer to kick in some money to improve the prospect return. While I think the Abreu for Hill/Coca deal could be a possibility, an Abreu + 4 million for Supak and Hill could be just as good of a possibility.

[Eye Black]

There has been speculation that the White Sox are working on a contract extension with Abreu, and it seems that he has a strong desire to remain with the White Sox for the foreseeable future.

 

Rick Hahn said this two week ago about Abreu: “He’s been here throughout the early stages of this rebuild and certainly very likely he’ll be here in the more enjoyable stages that lie ahead of us. I truly believe that.”

 

It could certainly just be posturing for trade value, but I’ll be a little surprised if the White Sox trade Abreu this season. I also don’t think the trade him now and re-sign him in the off-season tactic is something that is likely in this case (or almost any cases for that matter).

[pacopete4]

Feels like a mistake for them to extend him.

[wntrtxn21]

I don't think the cost on Abreu would be that great. Projecting out this year to a full season, and then taking the average bWAR/fWAR from 2017-2019, he averages out as a 2.6 WAR player per season. So, if trading for him at the end of June with half the year gone should yield a team 1.3 WAR. At 9 million per WAR that would bring the value to 11.7 million. He makes 16 million so then subtract off 8 million for the half season of pay and his surplus value is a pretty small 3.7 million. I do think the 8 million dollars pushes many teams away because the guy hasn't really been all that great a hitter when considering his position for the past 1 1/3 seasons (.264/.323/.487/.811). Aguilar over that same timeframe = .258/.342/.489/.831. Thames over that same timeframe = .223/.324/.455/.780. If the trading team picks up the entire 8 million, surplus value says that Abreu is worth 1 role-player prospect or 2 fringe-prospects. I don't think a deal like Abreu for Adam Hill and Yeison Coca would be out of the question.

 

The White Sox have turned down much more than Hill and Coca already. Abreu is worth much more to an AL club.

[KeithStone53151]

I'm not sure the Brewers have 6-7 million to pay for Abreu. Would probably need a bit of salary relief. Don't forget, we're currently rocking around a $125m+ payroll right now and probably don't have a ton of room to add. The Brewers will probably have other needs as well, like a RH relief arm, that may require some payroll.

 

Ignoring the financial aspects, maybe Abreu would be a good add. I think it comes with parting ways with one of Aguilar/Thames in some way. I feel like the White Sox may have some interest in Thames and that option. There aren't THAT many power hitting LH 1b on the market this coming offseason. $7.5 million would be a bit of a premium but it guarantees them a solid/decent player at the position for 2020...a year they'll likely ramp up to contention.