(670 The Score) Former White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu indicated he felt disrespected by how his nine-year tenure with the organization ended.
“Sometimes, when you’re at a place where maybe you’re not being respected to the point where you think you should be, you just have to go somewhere else,” Abreu told the Sun-Times in a recent interview.
For the 36-year-old Abreu, that somewhere else was the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros, with whom he signed a three-year, $58.5-million deal. That type of contract was never a consideration for the White Sox, who let Abreu walk to open up the first base job for 24-year-old Andrew Vaughn.
While there was logic in that for the White Sox, they still lost a quality player in Abreu. And no part of the situation could ease the pain for Abreu, who admitted “it hurts” to have left Chicago.
Abreu also reflected on the White Sox’s disappointing, drama-filled 81-81 season in 2022. He acknowledged there was a strain in the clubhouse.
“The best way I can put it is just that we weren’t a real family,” Abreu told the Sun-Times. “And I’m hoping that maybe (the White Sox) can get to a situation where a lot of the guys there that do deserve to be in a good situation, they can have it there and be able to win. But I don’t really have too much more to say about that.”
Abreu was a three-time All-Star for the White Sox and won the American League MVP award in the shortened 2020 season. His 243 homers are the third-most in White Sox history, and his 863 RBIs rank fifth.
He hit .304 with 15 homers, 78 RBIs and an .824 OPS in 157 games for the White Sox this past season.
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