White Sox, 1B Abreu avoid arbitration with $13M deal

[January 13, 2018]  The Chicago White Sox and first baseman Jose Abreu avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $13 million deal Friday.

Abreu was arbitration eligible for the second time this offseason after exercising his right to opt in to the process as part of his original six-year, $68 million contract signed in 2013. The deal allowed Abreu to go through arbitration when he became eligible by MLB standards (after first three seasons), and he made $10.825 million in 2017.

The 30-year old had a season reminiscent of his 2014 Rookie of The Year campaign, slashing .304/.354/.552 and hitting 33 home runs while driving in 102 runs. Across his four years with the White Sox, the Cuban slugger has 124 home runs and 410 RBIs, driving in at least 100 runs in every season.

Abreu is under contract with the White Sox through the 2019 season.

Also avoiding arbitration with Chicago on Friday are left-handers Luis Avilan ($2.45 million) and Carlos Rodon ($2.3 million) and infielder Leury Garcia ($1.175 million), per a club announcement.

 

The White Sox were unable to come to terms on a deal for 2018 with outfielder Avisail Garcia ahead of Friday's deadline. Garcia filed at $6.7 million, while the White Sox countered with $5.85 million, according to a report from FanRag Sports.

Garcia, 26, enjoyed a breakout 2017 season, posting career highs in batting average (.330), home runs (18) and RBIs (80).

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.