Nov. 05--The Tribune will be doing position-by-position analyses for the 2015 White Sox. Next up is first base and designated hitter.
2015 statistics
Jose Abreu: 154 games, 115 at first base, .290 batting average, 34 doubles, 30 home runs, 101 RBIs, 39 walks, 140 strikeouts, .850 OPS; 11 errors, 100 double plays, .989 fielding percentage; 3.0 WAR, according to FanGraphs
Adam LaRoche: 127 games, 48 at first base, .207 batting average, 21 doubles, 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, 49 walks, 133 strikeouts, .634 OPS; one error, 43 double plays, .997 fielding percentage; minus-1.4 WAR
Contract status for 2016
Abreu: Under contract for $10 million in 2016
LaRoche: Under contract for $13 million in 2016
Breakdown
First base and designated hitter represented the best (Abreu) and the worst (LaRoche) of the 2015 season.
Abreu avoided a sophomore slump after his American League Rookie of the Year season in 2014. He was the Sox's most consistent hitter, batting below .270 in just one of the season's six months and totaling at least five home runs and 19 RBIs in July, August and September.
Slowed early in the season by a sore finger, his numbers were slightly off his first year but not by a lot. He became just the second player in major-league history to record at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in his first two seasons. The other was Albert Pujols.
Abreu also made some strides in the field from his first season, jumping from minus-11 defensive runs saved in 2014 to one in 2015, but he still rates below average on defense.
LaRoche found it difficult to leave the defensive aspect of the game behind as he transitioned from a first baseman in the National League to a designated hitter in the AL. He had what he called the most frustrating season of his career, one that petered out with a knee injury that sent him to the bench for much of the final month of the year.
The lack of production from the third-highest-paid player on the team puts the Sox in a bind for 2016. They don't seem likely to eat the remaining $13 million on LaRoche's contract, and so they have to hope that he finds better results in his second season in the DH role.
They could try to play him at first base more often, as he had better numbers at the plate in games he played in the field, but Abreu prefers playing first over being the DH. They could also have him split DH duties with another player more often if he doesn't improve early on in the season.
