Merkin: Abreu's impact extended far beyond the lines

CHICAGO -- For nine years in Chicago, José Abreu represented pure class and became one of the most influential players in White Sox history.

I tweeted something to this effect after news broke Monday concerning Abreu’s three-year deal with Houston, pending a physical. After the tweet, I started to think about the “most influential” part of my sentiment.

Make no mistake: The numbers support Abreu as one of the top individuals ever to suit up for the White Sox. His 243 career home runs rank third all-time behind Hall of Famer Frank Thomas (448) and fellow World Series champion Paul Konerko (432) and just ahead of Hall of Famers Harold Baines (221) and Carlton Fisk (214).

Abreu’s 863 RBIs place him fifth, with the soon-to-be 36-year-old falling in the Top 6 of 11 White Sox statistical categories according to MLB.com. Those categories include being hit by a pitch (117 times, third most) and grounding into double plays (167, fourth). So, some honors were more painful or slightly more dubious than others.

But influential, to me, takes a player to another level. Abreu was not known for his fiery clubhouse or dugout tirades to inspire the team, but he had the respect of everyone who came in contact with him because he played the game the right way. Every day, no excuses.

Players, coaches and the front office saw the preparation that went into Abreu's game and his team-first attitude. It’s that sort of on-and-off-field excellence that makes it difficult for White Sox players to envision life without Abreu, who played 10 seasons for Cienfuegos in Cuba before joining the White Sox prior to the 2014 season.

“I don't know if any team needs any player. This isn't my area of expertise,” said White Sox hurler Lucas Giolito after his last start of the 2022 season. “But if you were to choose one, it would be Pito for sure. Just the heart and soul, man. Heart and soul of the White Sox.

“He's done just amazing things on and off the field ever since I've been here and had the pleasure of being his teammate. We'll see what happens.”

What happened was that the World Series champion Astros added one of the game’s top middle-of-the-order presences to an already potent lineup. Abreu has six seasons with at least 25 home runs, 30 doubles and 100 RBIs, and he finished second in the American League last season with 183 hits, fifth with a .304 average and sixth with 40 doubles.

His 15 home runs and 75 RBIs were the lowest output for him in a full regular season. But even if Abreu is down a tick in the power area, he’ll benefit from the Minute Maid Park layout and will work diligently to re-up this area of his game.

Andrew Vaughn will move to first base for the White Sox, the position he held when was selected third overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. Vaughn is a strong overall hitter with a polished approach well beyond his 1,024 plate appearances and should be fresher over 162 games with a move to the infield following 191 career games in the outfield.

Here’s the funny thing: Vaughn told me he was more than happy to keep working at a position not exactly natural to him if it meant Abreu staying at first base with Chicago. Gavin Sheets, a natural first baseman who also moved into the outfield, felt the same way.

Things change in baseball, though. Vaughn and Sheets will get to draw on talks they had in the clubhouse or on the team plane with Abreu about hitting, and they'll get to see him again for the season-opening weekend on March 30 in Houston.

Houston travels to Guaranteed Rate Field on May 12-14, and it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if the White Sox announced Abreu’s impending jersey retirement that weekend. Nobody will wear No. 79 again for the White Sox, and nobody really should.

“I've got nothing but great words about him, his work ethic, professionalism. A great human,” said free agent Elvis Andrus, who played with Abreu for just 43 games last season but compared him to Adrián Beltré. “He's a better human being than a player, and that tells you everything.

“He's the heart and soul of this organization, and hopefully he can come back. I feel like if he's gone, it would be a huge loss for this team.”