Cuban phenom Jose Dariel Abreu is being saluted as the “best Cuban player to come to the majors in three decades,” but one wonders if it will be enough to register in any meaningful way for the Chicago White Sox this season.
“Abreu is a better hitter than either Yasiel Puig or Yoenis Cespedes,” Cuban baseball expert Peter Bjarkman recently told USA Today, pointing to Abreu’s back-to-back seasons of flirting with a triple crown in the Cuban league and hitting .360 with three homers and nine RBIs in six games of the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
So now, Mr. Abreu goes to Chicago and for the struggling White Sox he can’t arrive soon enough. The Sox signed the 27-year-old Abreu to a six-year, $68 million deal and he’ll need to earn every penny if the team is to shake itself from the doldrums of last year’s catastrophe of a season and a streak of five straight seasons of missing out on the playoffs.
The franchise lost a staggering 99 games last season, but if history repeats itself, they should be poised for a rebound of heavenly proportions this summer. After down seasons in 2007, 2009, and 2011, the organization rebounded to average 87 wins in each of the following seasons.
Bringing Abreu into the fold also provides a jolt of star power that’s been reticent for a franchise that has seen team attendance dwindle for seven straight seasons. But now, Mr. Abreu comes to Chi-Town and the Sox are hoping they have enough other elements to light a competitive fire under themselves in 2014.
Catcher: The platoon of Tyler Flowers and Josh Phegley won’t exactly strike fear into opposing pitchers, as they formed one of the weakest hitting combos in MLB last season. Flowers, at least, has distinguished himself as a signal-caller, with pitchers posting a 3.86 ERA when he’s calling the shots behind the plate.
First base: Paul Konerko has opened 13 of the last 15 seasons as the Opening Day starting first baseman and the tough-as-nails veteran still clearly remains the team’s best option. Konerko fell off from a .298 batting average and 26 homers in 2012 to just .244 and 12 last season, but he stills reigns as one of the team’s most clutch performers.
Second base: Gordon Beckham remains steady if not spectacular for the organization and the team is expected to do all it can to keep the arbitration-eligible veteran in the fold beyond this season. After a .267, five homer, 24 RBI season, Beckham is expected to command somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 million largely based on his hard-nosed, top-flight defense.
Third base: Acquired in the deal for reliever Addison Reed with Arizona, power-hitting youngster Matt Davidson, 22, has a good chance to beat out Connor Gillaspie for the Opening Day starter job. In just 31 games and 76 at-bats last season, Davidson showed what he was made of, rapping out nine extra base hits, three of them homers. A former first-round draft choice, Davidson has been ranked among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects in each of the past three offseasons.
Shortstop: Now 32, Alexei Ramirez’s remains the team’s shortstop fixture. Ramirez hit .284 with six homers and 48 RBI last season and the Sox can almost assuredly pencil in at least those kind of numbers for this season.
Outfielders: Projected starters Alejandro De Aza, Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton give the Sox as much outfield speed as they’ve had in years. In Eaton, the Sox are looking for a break-out year from what could be one of the game’s most versatile performers. The Sox are hoping the 25-year-old can set the tone at the top of the lineup by posting the kind of on-base percentage the organization could only dream of as recently as last season. And then there are his even greater strengths, like defense and winning attitude, which they team found in equal short supply in 2013. Still, Garcia may have the biggest upside, hitting .283 with 7 homers and 31 RBIs in 72 games last season, 42 of them for the Sox after after being acquired from the World Series champion Red Sox as part of the Jake Peavy deal. Dayan Vicedo (14 HRs, 56 RBIs) sits as the fourth outfielder, and when he’s on can be one of the team’s top power hitters.
Designated hitter: Adam Dunn hit 34 homers last season and now has 440 for his career. Just as glaringly, he struck out 189 times and now has 2,220 over his career. This season shapes up no differently; it’s always been all or nothing with Dunn. Viciedo and even Abreu also figure to get a few DH at-bats.
Starting pitchers: This could be the key to the Sox’ whole season, or at least the strength of the team. Chris Sale (11-14, 3.07 ERA, 226 Ks), Jose Quintana (9-7, 3.51 ERA, 164 Ks), and John Danks (career ERA just over 4.00, more than 800 Ks) all figure to again anchor a staff that posted an overall team ERA of just 3.98 last season. Rookie Erik Johnson was also impressive after being summoned during September call-ups, posting a 3-2 record with an ERA of 3.25 and 18 strikeouts over just 27 innings. “I feel really good about our left-handed pitchers,” said pitching Coach Don Cooper. “I feel very good about the arsenal and equipment our left-handers have, and I believe they will all have good seasons.
Relief pitchers: Right-hander Nate Jones has tossed back-to-back strong seasons, combining to hurl 149 innings and surrendering just 59 runs. Over that span, Jones recorded 89 strikeouts and posted an ERA just over 4.00. He may have a bit more help this season, as Matt Lindstrom (76 appearances, 3.12 ERA in 2013) and hard-throwing rookie Daniel Webb (ERA just over 3.00 and 10 Ks in 11 innings last season) also appear to be figuring things out.
