Rumors have been fanned once again as Winter Meetings begin. Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe mentioned (once again) that the Red Sox are very interested in the White Sox slugger and hinted at the St. Louis Cardinals having similar feelings regarding Pito.
Of course, Abreu could be traded in the next few days but there is a chorus of experts railing against any such move. This is nothing new to White Sox fans. Rick Hahn has a gift for pulling off magical trades that benefit both parties but moving Abreu would be catastrophic to the clubhouse given his dominion over a growing Cuban presence.
The Chicago #Whitesox say they would have to be overwhelmed by offer to trade Jose Abreu, who's a powerful clubhouse influence. Unlikely to be traded
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 10, 2017
Heard same. Listening but not necessarily shopping. https://t.co/NsY54nWieP
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) December 10, 2017
I wrote at length about this back in early November and MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal confirmed my suspicions last week. It seems these rumors will not disappear, and quite frankly they shouldn’t. Hahn will take all calls on the slugger until an “overwhelming” package is presented. That’s just him doing his job.
But the Cardinals might have an intriguing package to present White Sox brass after losing out on the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes. Carson Kelly is a prospect the South Siders might have interest in but given Yadier Molina‘s age, Kelly could be a non-starter. Add that Alex Reyes is loath to be cast out in any trade discussion and the Cardinals must start offering a heap of outfield prospects that the White Sox nary a need for. In fact, one must sink all the way to the No. 15 prospect Austin Gomber to find the highest ranked organizational left-hander.
Almost any deal is a stretch for Abreu. The Rick Hahn knows what he has in Pito and it would be a truly overwhelming deal to wrench the slugger from the south side. But also remember that, as Rosenthal pointed out, Abreu is on par with Eric Hosmer in fWAR, boosting his value into a range rarely seen. It is kind of fun to even imagine what the return would be.
