White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, who signed a six-year, $68 million contract in October, took part in Tuesday's minicamp and gave White Sox personnel plenty to rave about.
"That's a strong man right here," White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson told MLB.com. "That's a big man. He has a nice smooth, compact approach. He didn't try to do too much with the ball and the ball was flying off his bat. I think he has a nice bright future coming up with him."
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn is doing his best to temper his excitement, but he was having a hard time doing so after watching Abreu take several rounds of batting practice.
"We try to keep in mind that it's Jan. 14 and we still have a ways to go," Hahn said. "But just watching Jose go through his work, you saw that professionalism as well as the plus-plus power on display today in only his first couple of rounds of BP. He's a very serious hitter. He's one who goes up there with a plan and has a great deal of ability, and it's going to be fun to see how this plays out over the next couple of years."