Perhaps there is more smoke behind the Boston Red Sox pursuit of Jose Abreu than first reported. Jon Heyman just posted that the White Sox have had “active” discussions about sending the Cuban slugger to Boston and two other teams.
chisox have been in active talks with red sox and others on star 1B jose abreu. boston was 1 of 4 finalists for abreu when he signed with chicago (milwaukee & houston were the others).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 29, 2017
Boston appears to be the headlining act in trade talks and has the most currency to deal with. Jayson Groome has to headline any discussions regarding Abreu. The White Sox are dreadfully bereft of premier lefthanders and although Groome has a raft of reservations attached to him, he is regarded as the No. 4 left-handed pitching prospect by MLB Pipeline.
I actually have firsthand experience with Groome on a baseball diamond. He is one of the most impressive players I’ve ever played or coached against.
His frame is big-league ready and I’ve never seen a curveball as devastating as his. Groome knows how to pitch rather than throw, and believe me, he can run it up there in the triple-digits. The only concerns about Groome are his maturity off the field and that is something I witnessed first-hand as well. In his final high school contest, he had no problem cryptically laying blame for the loss on his right fielder and later centered himself in a minor twitter spat with an opposing player.
These lapses in judgment probably cost him millions of dollars and led to him slipping several spots in the draft. Other experts have added to those character questions by elaborating on the depth of reservations in his dossier. Groome’s father was also arrested recently for alleged drug trafficking and weapons charges. It stands to reason some of the fear around Groome originated from the tree he falls from but finding a 19-year-old kid who will dissociate with his family is difficult.
I pontificated earlier this week that Jackie Bradley Jr. would be a foolish swap for Abreu but given the persistence of the two teams being linked and the interest the White Sox had in Bradley Jr. in July of 2016, maybe Rick Hahn feels he is a good fit. Still, I’m not sure where Bradley Jr. fits into the outfield equation with Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Blake Rutherford and Luis Alexander Basabe already working towards the big leagues. Not to mention Bradley Jr. only has one extra year of club control past Abreu.
If Dave Dombrowski is hell-bent on netting Abreu they are probably willing to separate with Sam Travis, the No. 3 Red Sox prospect. But this is still a questionable move given that the White Sox just drafted a first-base/DH specific prospect in Gavin Sheets. Sheets is still far from big-league ready and Travis had a decent, yet abbreviated year in Triple-A. However, Travis fits the White Sox new offensive approach with a patient and measured attitude at the plate. But what about Daniel Palka, the utility outfielder and first baseman Hahn snared from the Twins off Waivers? What about Casey Gillaspie who was just protected from the Rule 5 draft?
This has been a puzzling question for a while: What is Abreu’s value and what do the White Sox still need? Perhaps White Sox brass are dipping into a massive sabermetric overhaul and spawning a revised meritocracy. This sounds plausible given their recent history, but at some point, the roster will be rife with rookies and who will they turn to for veteran leadership?
The fact of the matter is that Hahn is going to do extract maximum value from every player on the roster, Abreu included. The business of baseball has no allegiances and despite Abreu’s role in wooing Robert, Hahn won’t blink at jettisoning the veteran to serve the current master.
