Olney: White Sox possibly top bidder for Jose Dariel Abreu

The Sox reportedly were in the top group vying to sign Jose Abreu, but that's rapidly dwindled according to Buster Olney:

Red Sox don't expect to sign Jose Abreu; they figure he'll be signing with another team. White Sox, Astros now seen as frontrunners.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 17, 2013

Source say Astros are skeptical about their chances of signing Jose Abreu. Made a strong offer but all but certain they fell short. W. Sox?

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 17, 2013

The Astros did, in fact, make a hard bid on Abreu while falling short: Heard their bid was between $50 million and $60 million.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 17, 2013

That would seem to make the White Sox the winning bidder. More updates as events warrant.

UPDATE (5:50 p.m.): Peter Gammons weighs in:

Gist of opinion is white sox over Astros at $70m for Abreu. Boston went above $40m

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) October 17, 2013