Report: Jose Abreu, White Sox Discussing Long-Term Contract Ahead of Free Agency

The Chicago White Sox are considering holding onto first baseman Jose Abreu. 

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Friday that the club and three-time All-Star "have discussed a long-term deal." 

"Abreu, 32, is facing a tough market for aging first basemen—and has a qualifying offer attached to him," Passan added. "Teams already are loath to go in big at that age and position. The [qualifying offer] could make it even tougher."

Abreu appeared in 159 games for the White Sox in 2019. The 2014 American League Rookie of the Year led the AL with 123 RBI and also posted 33 home runs on a .284/.330/.503 slash line.

On Nov. 4, USA Today's Bob Nightengale relayed that Abreu had received a $17.8 million qualifying offer from Chicago. He has 10 days from that date to whether he will accept it or decline to become an unrestricted free agent. 

Sox general manager Rick Hahn told reporters following the season in September that "there's that mutual desire" to keep Abreu in Chicago somehow (h/t NBC Sports Chicago's Vinnie Duber):

"With Jose, we've heard his thoughts that even if we don't re-sign him he's going to re-sign himself. We've heard Jerry's thoughts about he's always going to wear a White Sox uniform. I don't think they are going to be teaching this in negotiation classes in college any time soon how this one is unfolding. But my takeaway from all that is that there's a strong desire on both sides to figure out a way to keep Jose in a White Sox uniform beyond this year.

"We've been in these situations before. It seems fairly similar to the Paul Konerko situation after ‘05 and again after '09, when we re-signed him again. Paulie went deep into free agency and talked to other clubs, and we still found a way to bring him back. I don't know quite the path it's going to follow with Jose just yet, but more often than not, when there's that mutual desire to figure out a way to get something done, you wind up getting something done."

Abreu had said back in July that he didn't "want to leave here" because he felt the White Sox are building "something very big."

Chicago's 72-89 record in 2019 compared to its 62-100 2018 campaign would indicate that the White Sox are moving in the right direction. 

Keeping Abreu in the fold for 2020 makes all the sense in the world given the only other first baseman currently on the club's roster is 24-year-old Zack Collins, who just concluded his rookie year. However, the organization drafted first baseman Andrew Vaughn with the third overall pick in June's draft—MLB.com's top first-base prospect. 

Vaughn's development is something to consider in relation to the White Sox's long-term commitment to Abreu.