White Sox's Abreu has plenty of room for defensive improvement
After Thursday night's 7-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins, White Sox manager Rick Renteria was asked about another poor defensive play from first baseman Jose Abreu.
Instead of making a routine catch on a throw from second baseman Tyler Saladino that would have ended the first inning with a double play, Abreu dropped the ball for an error and the Twins quickly cashed in with 4 unearned runs.
"Did you like the pick with the strikeout?" Renteria said of Abreu scooping a bad throw from catcher Omar Narvaez later in the game. "That comes with it, too."
Renteria is always going to back his players, as do most managers.
But the numbers have not lied since Abreu took over as the Sox's starting first baseman in 2014.
This season, Abreu's 5 errors are the most among major-league first basemen. His UZR rating (ultimate zone rating, or the number of runs above or below average a fielder is) has never been higher than -1.8, and it plunged to -5.0 in 2016.
"Sadly, (Thursday) night, I failed at that play with the solid throw (from Saladino), Abreu said through an interpreter. "But I take a lot of pride in my defense. I work on it a lot, same as my offense, because I take pride in both as part of the game. I don't think one is more important than the other. I think both are important to have in the game."
In the fourth inning of Friday night's game against the San Diego Padres, Hunter Renfroe led off and reached on a throwing error by shortstop Leury Garcia.
Abreu could have picked the errant throw out of the dirt but was unable to bail out Garcia.
Renteria does not view Abreu as a defensive liability.
"He'll continue to get better and continue to improve and make the adjustments he needs to in order to get back to where he needs to be," the Sox's manager said.
Renteria on Thursday suggested Abreu was using the wrong glove at first base.
"I don't know what exactly he said, but I'm using the same glove I've been using the last year or so," Abreu said Friday. "I think the mistake yesterday was because I stretched too early and I couldn't handle that throw. That was why I committed the error."
Renteria said Abreu is likely going to be the White Sox's designated hitter today or Sunday, but not because of his rough defensive work.
"I still think that DH slot isn't going to be one we use to define a player," Renteria said. "I'll continue to roll it around the field and give guys a little rest and see if we can take advantage of it that way."
After a promising start to the season, the Sox have been playing like a team that is still in the early stages of a rebuilding project.
"We knew that we were going to hit some bumps in the road," Abreu said. "This is probably the first one. We have to show that we have character, too. I think we are prepared for this. We're just trying to play our game the best way that we can and just trying to fight every day."