After 9 stellar seasons with Sox, could Abreu wind up with Cubs?
It's been such a familiar sight on the South Side for nearly a decade.
As early as four hours before first pitch, there sat Jose Abreu.
Camped out in front of his locker in the far corner of the White Sox's clubhouse.
Bat in hand.
Ready to go.
Since joining the Sox in 2014 after playing 10 seasons in his native Cuba - he debuted with Cienfuegos at the age of 16 - Abreu has been locked in, focused on only one thing.
"I love baseball," he said through a translator during the final week of the season.
On the field and off, Abreu has been a driving force for the White Sox over the last nine years.
Claimed off waivers from Oakland in August, shortstop Elvis Andrus is thrilled he got to be teammates with Abreu for the final two months of the season.
"Oh, man!" Andrus said. "People have no idea. A lot of people ask me that question and I tell them he's the closest, in terms of player and personality, to Adrian Beltre. Very similar. I made a joke to him, 'The only thing that Adrian has on you is really good English.'
"But man, I've got nothing but great words about him, his work ethic, professionalism. A great human. He's a better human being than a player, and that tells you everything. He's the heart and soul of this organization, and hopefully he can come back. I feel like if he's gone, it would be a huge loss for this team."
Now a free agent, there is a very strong sense that Abreu is as good as gone.
Andrew Vaughn, the White Sox's first-round draft pick (No. 3 overall) in 2019, is a natural first baseman.
Abreu is, too, so Vaughn had to play 191 games in the outfield over the last two year and only 38 at first.
After leading the Sox with 17 home runs and 76 RBI while batting .271/.321/.429 this season, Vaughn is set to move to his favored position in 2023.
Abreu's return door to the White Sox is still cracked open a bit, but it is very slight. He'd have to come back as a designated hitter, a role Abreu has never cared for.
New White Sox manager Pedro Grifol has closely watched Abreu from the opposing dugout the last three years as Kansas City's bench coach.
"I think all 30 managers want to see Jose Abreu in their lineup," Grifol said. "He's obviously a guy from the other side that you when you see him play, he comes to play every day. He works hard, he plays hurt, he performs. He's performed for a long time.
"We have to sit down and see how this roster shakes out in the next couple of weeks and beyond and see where we go from there."
If the Sox have already to decided to go in a different direction, which is very likely, Abreu is going to have multiple options when shopping for a new team.
Even though his power output was way down this season - Abreu hit a career-low home runs - he posted a solid .305/.379/.446 hitting line and ranked sixth in the American League with 40 doubles.
There was some speculation he was going to retire after the season, but the 35-year-old Abreu had a strong desire to keep playing.
"I love the game even more now than when I started," he said.
The Cubs are looking for help at first base, and Abreu is an obvious fit.
The Mariners, Twins, Red Sox, Astros and Giants are other possible landing spots.
If Abreu is done playing for the White Sox, he exits ranked No. 3 in franchise history with 243 home runs and No. 5 with 863 RBI.
"He's been exemplary in terms of what you want a White Sox player to be for nine years now," general manager Rick Hahn said. "No matter what the future holds for him here or elsewhere, I don't think you are ever going to hear anyone within this organization say a bad word about Jose. Nothing but admiration and respect for the professionalism and the way he's carried himself on the field and off the field."