Jose Abreu Accepts Qualifying Offer

It is decision day for Major League Baseball players that were given the qualifying offer. Teams were able to offer certain potential free agents a 1-year contract at $17.8 million. The team would receive draft pick compensation if the player declined the offer and entered the free-agent market. It has been reported by Jeff Passan (via Twitter) that Jose Abreu has decided to accept the one year offer from the Chicago White Sox.

The Fit

The Chicago White Sox will continue to have the benefit of Jose Abreu’s monster presence in the middle of their line up. The slugger, entering his age 33 season, has been a guy the White Sox want to build around.

This past season, Abreu led the league with 123 RBIs, while smashing 33 home runs. He has hit more than 30 home runs in four out of his six years in the big leagues. Abreu also owns an impressive .293/.349/.513 slash line for his entire career. He is the type of bat that a team would want.

For Jose Abreu, it means he will not have to enter a free agent market that is not kind to the mid-tier players with qualifying offers attached to them. Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are recent victims of this new free-agent market. He guarantees himself another year in Chicago.

The White Sox get a chance to sign him to a longer deal without the threat of free agency. It is clear that the White Sox want to keep Abreu around. He is mostly a first baseman and will continue to hold down the position for at least one more year. The White Sox are looking to take steps toward contending. By accepting this offer, it is also clear that Abreu feels that Chicago is a home for him and he did not want to leave via free agency.