White Sox and Jose Abreu agree on a 3-year, $50 million contract

First baseman Jose Abreu said he would sign himself if it would take that to stay with the White Sox. On Friday, the All-Star first baseman and the Sox made sure it will last beyond next season.

The Sox announced a three-year, $50 million contract with Abreu a day after they signed free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal to a team-record four-year, $73 million deal.

Grandal’s deal eclipsed the team-record six-year, $68 million deal that Abreu signed in 2013. With this one, Abreu will receive a $5 million signing bonus, $11 million in 2020, $16 million in 2021 and $18 million in 2022, with $4 million deferred.

Last season, Abreu, who turns 33 in January, batted .284/.330/.503 with 33 home runs, 38 doubles and a career-high 123 RBI. He was the American League RBI leader and was named to the AL All-Star team for the third time.

“From the moment he stepped into the major leagues, Jose Abreu has been a leader on the field and in the clubhouse,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. “He has consistently delivered run production at a historic pace, and with each passing season, his leadership role within our clubhouse — with both American-born and Latin-American players — has repeatedly grown.”

In a statement Friday, Abreu said: “This is a dream come true for me and my family. To the fans, I told you I would come back. I never doubted it.”

Abreu accepted a one-year, $17.3 million qualifying offer from the Sox last week while both sides continued talks toward a multiyear agreement.

The new deal effectively gives him a $32.2 million extension.

“The biggest lesson I had reinforced was that there are still people in this life who really take care and appreciate what you do,” Abreu said on a conference call through a translator. “Throughout this process, I was able to connect with [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf], Rick Hahn, [executive vice president] Kenny Williams and [assistant GM] Jeremy Haber, and they all showed their appreciation for me. That was something I really appreciated. That was one of the reasons why we were able to work this out.”

In an interview with the Sun-Times in August, Abreu said Reinsdorf assured him he would never wear another uniform. Meanwhile, Abreu repeatedly expressed his desire to continue his career with the Sox.

That did nothing to bolster the bargaining power of a right-handed-hitting first baseman with limited defensive ability approaching his mid-30s. But with the Sox’ pursuit and acquisition of Grandal, the leadership Hahn alluded to heightened Abreu’s value for a rebuilding team that may finally be on the cusp of winning.

Abreu would more than welcome that development. In each of the six years covering his first Sox contract, he has played on losing teams.

“It won’t take us too much longer to be a really good team,” Abreu said. “If it takes us longer than expected, I’m going to be very disappointed.”

Abreu was anything but disappointed Friday. During the conference call with reporters, he was borderline giddy.

“We’ll celebrate for this deal, we’ll celebrate for life, and we’ll celebrate for the White Sox,” he said. “I’m very happy right now, man.”