White Sox's Abreu back after avoiding serious injury

They've survived the injury losses of Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, two of baseball's premier young players.

The guess here is the White Sox wouldn't have fared the same had Jose Abreu gone down in similar fashion.

For a frighteningly long pause during Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader against the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field, it was not looking good for Abreu - or the Sox.

After colliding with Kansas City's Hunter Dozier, both players went down in obvious discomfort.

Dozier wound up going on the injured list.

Abreu, naturally, wanted to play Game 2.

"That's the type of player he is," White Sox starter Lucas Giolito said. "He'll do anything for the team."

Wisely, Abreu sat out Game 2 with a ripped up face and sore left knee.

Expectedly, the American League's reigning MVP was back in the lineup against the Royals Saturday night.

Missing only one game was something of a miracle. Take another look at the video of Dozier slamming into Abreu and try arguing otherwise.

There are multiple reasons why an extended Abreu absence would have been so devastating for the Sox.

The first, and most obvious, is the offensive production.

Losing Jimenez's massive power and Robert's all-around ability is undoubtedly hurting the White Sox's lineup, but Abreu makes everything go.

Still going strong at age 34, Abreu ranked second in the AL with 32 RBI heading into Saturday's play. He led the league in RBI in each of the last two seasons.

After getting off to a slow start in April (.213/.296/.394), Abreu has been back to his old self in May (.314/.432./.629) while knocking in runs in bunches.

"The guy's constantly working, trying to figure it out," Sox hitting coach Frank Menechino said. "But I think there were some mechanical flaws in there, there was some stuff going on with his bat path that he wasn't feeling. He could see it but he wasn't feeling it.

"Now he's starting to really pay attention to staying on the fastball and reacting to off-speed stuff. I think he's starting to relax and by getting on that fastball he's starting to get his mechanics back and he's starting to get his timing back."

The second Abreu attribute is leadership, and more.

His work ethic is legendary, and Abreu's presence on the field and in the clubhouse is always noticed.

"Everybody knows that he's our leader," Leury Garcia said. "Everybody knows the kind of person that he is. He always likes to be with us, he always likes to be on the field."

The third plus for Abreu is his defense, which manager Tony La Russa already sees as being Gold Glove level.

"I think it's a common practice, even with people in uniform much less fans, to think that first base is where you put the power hitter, just catch the ball when they throw it and make a play here or there," La Russa said. "The fact is, if you excel at that position, it's a tremendous advantage to your defense. He's a special defender."

Abreu made two great defensive plays in Wednesday night's win over the Twins, and don't forget the gem from Carlos Rodon's no-hitter against the Indians in April.

Leading off the ninth inning for Cleveland, Josh Naylor hit a slow chopper that Abreu gloved.

With no time to flip to Rodon at first base for the out, Abreu dove at the bag and tagged it with his right foot a split second before Naylor arrived.

"I didn't want him to blow out his knee, I was kind of concerned about that," Rodon said. "But an unbelievable play. Without that play, we don't get there."

Abreu still doesn't get much attention outside of Chicago, but the White Sox know he's irreplaceable.

"It's just the way he takes the work ethic into the game and he plays the scoreboard, which is one of the classic things that winning players are taught, play the scoreboard," La Russa said. "He's a beautiful guy, beautiful in every way."