Abreu will be missed, but his exit was necessary

José Abreu surely knew he was gone on the final day of the 2022 season when he opted to sit and watch the last game of his White Sox career from the dugout.

Abreu issued a statement through White Sox public relations that morning, explaining he asked interim manager Miguel Cairo for the day off “to enjoy this game with him and have the manager’s perspective.” He then sat at the opposite end of the dugout from Cairo during a 10-1 loss to the Twins.

Abreu didn’t want a long goodbye, so he left without any sendoff from the Sox organization or the team’s fans. No standing ovations. Not even so much as a wave.

What he was thinking that day was anyone’s guess, and he didn’t speak afterward.

The low-key departure was a little odd for a player of Abreu’s stature on the South Side.

And the decision to avoid unwanted attention was made even more glaring by the nonstop goodbyes Willson Contreras received in his final three months as a Cub.

But that truly was the end, as we learned Monday.

Confirming reports from earlier in the day, the World

Series champion Houston Astros announced they signed Abreu to a three-year contract, which was neither surprising nor worthy of teeth-gnashing from upset Sox fans.

Everyone seemed to agree it was time to go, except perhaps for Abreu. He soon will find there’s life outside the South Side and no doubt will get his “welcome back” salute next year at Sox

Park.

General manager Rick Hahn, who drafted Andrew Vaughn in 2019 to eventually take Abreu’s place, had no choice but to move on from the veteran with Vaughn so miscast in the outfield. Another year of watching Vaughn attempt to play left or right field would’ve been a disaster for a team that desperately needs to improve defensively to become a legitimate contender.

Vaughn remains an unproven hitter in spite of what was considered a breakthrough season.