Bobby Abreu

[Jpup]

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, free agent outfielder Bobby Abreu has lowered his expectations to the three-year, $10-11MM range of Raul Ibanez and Milton Bradley.

The Dodgers, Reds, or Braves could get in on Abreu, but I imagine they'd still balk at the price.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/0...abreu-low.html

I'd give him 2 years for $20M with an option. Anyone else interested?

[Redhook]

Yes. Definitely.

[Jpup]

As the market for free-agent outfielder Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu continues to drop, the Braves are becoming more intrigued with them. But it's hard to believe that either of them could be acquired for anything less than an offer that would provide them $5 million for the upcoming season. Trading with the Yankees for either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady would also eat up most of Atlanta's available funds. Swisher will make $5.3 million this year, and Nady will draw a salary of $6.55 million. -- MLB.com

[RedEye]

I'll second what someone wrote in another thread about this possibility:

Sign Abreu, bat him third, and leave him alone for the rest of the year.

I really can't imagine a better player to acquire right now. He is just about exactly the type of hitter this lineup needs, and his defense can't be worse than Jonny Gomes. If Dickerson gets moved to CF in the process, I might actually think I'm starting to wake up from this boring nightmare of an offseason.

[redsmetz]

I'd do it. Make the buyout a million or two and that's equivalent to two years at $11M.

[GADawg]

I'm in....for some strange reason I keep thinking the Reds will end up with him...probably that premature statement that Jocketty made about being finished for the off-season.

also I'd be trying to get in on Sheets or even Garland. The Reds have more options for starters(decent options I mean)than they've had in years but at the same time we've all seen how many it can possibly take to make it through the season.

all together now..."you can never have enough pitching"....

[Emin3mShady07]

I'd rather trade for Nick Swisher other things equal.

Last year Abreu was at least a -10 run defender in right and swisher was roughly a +5 defender in LF.

Swisher is projected to bounce back and wOBA .360 by Chone and Abreu is expected to drop a little and wOBA .361 by Chone. The difference on offense is about 1/2 a run over 650 PAs, but the difference on defense is astonishing.

And the fact that it took Jeff marquez and Wilson "i am worse than juan uribe" Betemit to acquire means that I think the reds could get him for peanuts.

But Abreu would still be an upgrade if Dickerson was moved to CF and took the majority of playing time away from Willy Taveras.

[Jpup]

The talk is that the Rangers have only offered Sheets 1 year, I would counter that with, at least, a two year deal. The Reds get Abreu and Sheets and then they might have something. It will never happen though.

[Jpup]

I'd rather trade for Nick Swisher other things equal.

Last year Abreu was at least a -10 run defender in right and swisher was roughly a +5 defender in LF.

Swisher is projected to bounce back and wOBA .360 by Chone and Abreu is expected to drop a little and wOBA .361 by Chone. The difference on offense is about 1/2 a run over 650 PAs, but the difference on defense is astonishing.

And the fact that it took Jeff marquez and Wilson "i am worse than juan uribe" Betemit to acquire means that I think the reds could get him for peanuts.

But Abreu would still be an upgrade if Dickerson was moved to CF and took the majority of playing time away from Willy Taveras.

The difference is that Brian Cashman is a lot smarter than Kenny Williams. Cash knows what he has in Swisher.

[Emin3mShady07]

The difference is that Brian Cashman is a lot smarter than Kenny Williams. Cash knows what he has in Swisher.

I hate that I know that you are right.

[Razor Shines]

I would be ecstatic if the Reds signed Abreu. And not because I think he'd put them in the playoff hunt, but because hopefully our young hitters would learn from Abeu's plate approach. I can't think of many guys better (Adam Dunn for one) for Bruce to learn from than Abreu.

[Jpup]

This is from Buster Olney (Free preview of the Insider article @ ESPN.com)

As recently as a week ago, the asking price on Bobby Abreu was said to be locked in place, a three-year deal for something in the neighborhood of $16 million a year. But those numbers were based on appraisals made before the motor companies got an executive bailout, before the Dow Jones Industrial Average shrunk to four digits.

In the last few days, Abreu -- like so many other veteran players -- has come to grips with the reality that the lush multi-year deal is simply not going to be there for him, and the All-Star who hit 20 homers and accumulated an on-base percentage of .371 last season is said to be willing to take a one-year deal.

It is not what Abreu wants, it is not what Adam Dunn wants, or what Jason Varitek wants. It may take awhile for proud veteran players with solid track records to fully accept the humbling reality that the big money is just not there for them, for whatever reason they choose to believe.

But once those players settle on the fact that they are taking a one-year deal, the market place will probably open up for them. A lot more teams will become interested, presumably.

Abreu, on a modest one-year deal, would seemingly be in the price range of the Mets, Braves, Angels, Giants and maybe the Red Sox. Dunn might draw interest from the Yankees, a team for which he is perfectly suited, if they could shed the contracts of two of the three from the group of Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher. Abreu, Dunn and Varitek can go someplace and bust it for one year, and if they have a strong season, they can hope that the economic troubles will have less bearing on the market next offseason than they did this winter.

Spending across this market is down significantly, as these updated numbers from ESPN research monster Mark Simon show:

Jon Garland, who turned down arbitration and the chance to get an award that probably would have fallen in the range of $12 million to $14 million for the 2009 season, may be closing in on a deal with the D-Backs, writes Steve Gilbert. <

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider.

[redsmetz]

Regarding the Olney piece, it's important to keep in mind that even at significantly reduced salaries, these guys are going to be making some serious cash. And they can ride it out and see where the market is the next time. It ought to start breaking up in the next couple of weeks since camps start in a three weeks.

[Sea Ray]

Jon Garland, who turned down arbitration and the chance to get an award that probably would have fallen in the range of $12 million to $14 million for the 2009 season, may be closing in on a deal with the D-Backs, writes Steve Gilbert. <

I thought the D-Backs were out of money?

No way we sign Abreu. Management has clearly said we cannot add another $10mill and if we do add a LF that just pushes Dickerson aside.

If we can squander up some money, I'd rather they spend it on a LH starting pitcher like Oliver Perez or Randy Wolf.

[BRM]

I thought the D-Backs were out of money?

No way we sign Abreu. Management has clearly said we cannot add another $10mill and if we do add a LF that just pushes Dickerson aside.

Good point. Although it should push Taveras aside but I digress.