Abreu reports to Sox camp feeling good and ready to win
Jose Abreu was infected by the coronavirus in January, which is obviously concerning news.
But the White Sox's star first baseman and reigning American League MVP said his symptoms were never serious Saturday after he reported to spring training and completed his first workout.
"There was a day where I had a headache and a runny nose," Abreu said through a translator. "Those were the only symptoms I can think about because I didn't feel anything else. I didn't have fever or soreness in my body, anything. That was pretty mild and I didn't pay attention to it.
"Actually, I just kept doing my routine. I kept working. I kept lifting. But I didn't really feel anything major. I never stopped doing my routine because I was feeling good."
After quarantining in a hotel near Camelback Ranch the past week, Abreu was just happy to be back around his teammates and the game he loves.
"I was by myself in the hotel room," he said. "It was difficult. But now I'm good and now I'm back on the field and that's what I like. That important. It definitely was a very difficult moment, a moment where I could see the people who really care and love me. It gave the support and strength to get over it."
Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada contracted COVID-19 last season and never was able to shake off the fatigue.
Moncada is feeling like his old self this spring, and Abreu isn't worried about experiencing a similar lack of energy.
"Not at all," he said. "I'm in a very good spot. I feel good. This is a great moment for me and I'm just feeling good."
At 34 and under contract for two more years, Abreu seems to be getting better with age.
Last season, he became the first White Sox player since Frank Thomas (1994) to win MVP honors. Abreu has led the league in RBI the last two years.
"You can't be satisfied because you did something good a while ago," he said. "You need to keep doing stuff that made you satisfied, made you feel good. I love this game and I care about this game and I care about the White Sox. But at the moment I start feeling that love is not there, I probably will retire.
"I do what I do because I love this game and I prepare every day to do my best, because I know doing my best and respecting this game and I honor the people around me and the uniform that I'm wearing. That's the only way that I know how to play this game. It has been a very good way to do it and I plan to keep doing it. When I start feeling that something has changed, then probably that will be a moment for me to step down."
The retirement talk might start surfacing in 2022, but Abreu's current focus is on helping the Sox win big.
"Our mindset as a team is to win," he said. "To do that we have to prepare ourselves the best we can. The expectation is there, but we need to do what we need to to reach that goal. We haven't played our first game yet. Starting (Sunday) we have to execute and do the little things. And as (manager) Tony (La Russa) said, we have to be united as a family.
"If we can do that, execute and excel on the field, we will be in a very good position. But to say now the World Series is, you know, I don't like to say that because we don't know what's going to happen."
•The White Sox open Cactus League play Sunday against the Brewers (2:05 p.m., NBC Sports Chicago), and La Russa said catcher Yasmani Grandal is expected to miss the first few games after twisting his knee in a running drill.
Mike Wright starts the first game for the Sox and Bennett Sousa, Kade McClure, Jacob Lindgren and Danny Dopico are also scheduled to pitch.