CHICAGO -- White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu has opted out of his contract and is now arbitration-eligible as a three-plus player. Abreu remains under team control through 2019.
The 29-year-old Abreu agreed to a six-year, $68 million deal prior to the 2014 season and had three years at $34 million left on the deal. Once he was arbitration-eligible, Abreu had the choice of opting out of the guaranteed salaries and going year by year.
 
Jose Abreu opts out contract to become arbitration-eligible
 
Abreu was set to earn $10.5 million in 2017, $11.5 million in '18 and $12 million in '19. He joins third baseman Todd Frazier, second baseman Brett Lawrie, right-handers Zach PutnamJake Petricka and Miguel Gonzalez, along with left-hander Dan Jennings and outfielder Avisail Garcia as fellow arbitration-eligible players on the White Sox with a deadline of Dec. 2 for teams to tender contracts.
It was an interesting season for Abreu, who finished with a third straight campaign of hitting at least .290 with 25 home runs and 100 RBIs. Abreu batted .229 in April and .252 in May, while going homerless over 106 plate appearances in July. But Abreu finished strong, logging 14 home runs and 44 RBIs over his final 249 plate appearances from the start of August through the season's last day.
This season also marked a reunion for Abreu with his young son, Dariel, who was granted a travel visa and made his way from Cuba to the United States to spend time with his father and family.
Scott Merkin/MLB.com
 

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