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Bernstein: Jose Abreu's Struggles Weigh On White Sox

By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist

(CBS) There's no pretending a team is better than it is when it's near the bottom of the league in multiple offensive categories. The White Sox are a fourth-place team, and considering how few runs they score, they're lucky to still have that 45-46 record.

They are next-to-last in the American League in slugging and 13th of 15 teams in batting and OPS. They are second-to-last in aggregate position-player fWAR and are at the very bottom in wRC+. Their total of -52.2 offensive runs below league average is also an AL-worst.

What's also noticeable is that their problems are spread out across the entire lineup, which lacks even one single player with an OPS reaching a meager .800. Melky Cabrera's .793 is the sad clubhouse leader, with every other regular mired well below mediocrity.

First baseman Jose Abreu's steep decline remains a debilitating headwind, as the once-dangerous slugger is now scarily below replacement level, at -0.2 fWAR. The expected rejuvenation this year hasn't occurred, and until it does, we're witnessing the transformation of a very good player into a bad one. Abreu is already a defensive liability even at the relatively unimportant first base position, but the cratering of his wRC+ to a below-league-average 97 is alarming. In total, he has been worth -5.2 runs relative to average on offense alone. His .321 wOBA ranks 118th out of 163 qualified MLB hitters.

Contrast that with his rookie performance in 2014 -- a .411 wOBA, 167 wRC+, 42.7 offensive runs above average and a 5.3 fWAR -- and even his more earthly but still strong 2015 of .361, 129, 21.1 and 3.0 in those respective categories, and we see something drastically off course and in need of active attention.

Experts pointed to on-base issues as a potential problem for the White Sox going into the season, just examining past career production of a largely veteran roster to predict performance. And it has been the combination of that and a lack of power dragging down their scoring. A .307 team wOBA just isn't going to cut it.

Their pitching has been solid, 10th in all of baseball in total pitcher WAR. The defense, which last season was by far the worst in MLB at -41.5 runs relative to league average, has rebounded to rank 17th.

But it's those bats, or lack thereof. And it's the guy who was their best hitter, who's just not here anymore.

Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter  @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.

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