Abreu may have to settle for a 1 yr. deal at 3 mil.

[fewfirstchoice]

This is what mlbtraderumors is reporting. If Abreu has to settle for a 1 year deal at 3 million i will be very disappointed if the Reds arent involved in signing him. If hte best he offered by a playoff caliber team the Reds should offer a 1 year 4 million deal. This way he may sign with the Reds. The Reds front office has been very disappointing this off season so maybe they caould redeem thereselves with a deal like this.

[RedLakerFan24]

If Walt Doesnt at least talk to him I Will Be pissed

[Slyder]

Tell me again why we had to run head long into the wall of stink that is Willy Taveres? Because I am sure that if we dont sign him Walt or one of the higher ups will claim Budget, Budget, Budget as to why we didnt try.

[Ghosts of 1990]

You talk about steals....... my goodness.

Sign the guy Walt! What do we have to lose? To be honest I think they've already made up their mind that they aren't trying to compete this season, its a building year to see what we have in the youngsters, just getting them experience at the ML level (fine, then why is Dusty the manager is my question), so signing a guy like Abreu doesn't fit at all with the organizational goals for the year.

[Davis>Bruce]

if abreu has to "settle" for 3 million there has to be something wrong with him. You can't tell me there isn't one major league team willing to sign somebody like him for more than that? These people are smart for the most part, there has to be something we don't know.

[Old NDN]

if abreu has to "settle" for 3 million there has to be something wrong with him. You can't tell me there isn't one major league team willing to sign somebody like him for more than that? These people are smart for the most part, there has to be something we don't know.

Agreed. If he was that valuable why didn't the Yankees try to re-sign him? If he has to settle for a lot less than the asking price, it won't be with the Reds. I would think he would want to go somewhere that will compete.

[TheNext44]

That is just one report, and reports like that have been wrong many times before. Not saying it won't happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I do think that teams are wising up doing two things. Shying away from defensive liabilities, and shying away from players over 35 with declining skills. Abreu's value, when you factor in defense, has been declining every year for awhile now.

I think a lot has to do with these new defensive metrics, which, while far from perfect, are miles ahead of what they were just a few years ago, and I have to believe that MLB teams have even better ones that they are not sharing. Clearly a shift has occurred in MLB front offices that makes nearly every team more aware of how much defense really matters.

[DTCromer]

LOL at all the people desperately "wanting" Abreu to come here.

Listen folks, if he's really this good, he'd be a worth a bit more than $3mil/year.

[texasdave]

Tell me again why we had to run head long into the wall of stink that is Willy Taveres? Because I am sure that if we dont sign him Walt or one of the higher ups will claim Budget, Budget, Budget as to why we didnt try.

The WT signing will always baffle me. The timing as well as the amount given. The deal wasn't prostituted until 12/27. By then Walt should have recognized that the market had changed dramatically. But maybe Dusty pushed and pushed. And maybe Jamie Quirk pushed and pushed. And it is still a bad deal IMO. I said then and still feel now that the Reds could have waited until just about Opening Day and gotten comparable talent at a much lower cost. Oh well, Willy T is ours so let's hope he has another career season. A .375 OBP along with 80 steals and a big steaming plate of humble pie for one would certainly be welcome.

[Rusty the Red]

Is Abreu the difference maker for this team - not likely, regardless of what he costs. I would rather let Dickerson see if he can claim left.

[xavr1]

I would definitely want Walt to consider Abreu at that price! This is a consistent producer with winning experience. A lot more than we can say for the alternatives...

Does anyone know who else is rumored to be interested?

[Orodle]

I've often heard many comment about Abreu being one of the most under appreciated players of this time. After seeing some comments on here about questioning if we really need him I can see that it is true. I love Dickerson and want him to be in the starting lineup.....but would quickly shove him aside for Abreu.

My Dream '09 Reds outfield:

Abreu, Dickerson, Bruce.

[Ohioballplayer]

Yeah it's just a report but I speculate that he will get more than 3 mill, however even at that price Walt should join in, I agree with Orodle's outfield choices, and with Bobby here batting third or 5th he would add some protection in the lineup, and GASP will enhance his numbers for next season ;)

[roby]

I've often heard many comment about Abreu being one of the most under appreciated players of this time. After seeing some comments on here about questioning if we really need him I can see that it is true. I love Dickerson and want him to be in the starting lineup.....but would quickly shove him aside for Abreu.

My Dream '09 Reds outfield:

Abreu, Dickerson, Bruce.

You don't have to push dickerson aside. let him compete with willie T for the centerfield job!

[berryluther]

Until the Reds consistantly put a contender on the field they will have to overpay. We are all Reds fans and dont want to admit it but this town is low on FA lists of possibly destinations.

[steig]

I have a hard time believing that Abreu couldn't pay for himself at 3 million a year IF he makes the difference in this team competing or languishing. If the Reds really don't consider him as an option at this rate then what does this tell you about how the team feels about their chances to compete this season.

[Slyder]

Until the Reds consistantly put a contender on the field they will have to overpay. We are all Reds fans and dont want to admit it but this town is low on FA lists of possibly destinations.

Then you lose out on Willy Tavares whoopty freaking do. I wouldnt (and didnt) mind Cordero because he actually is well GOOD. We had at least 1 other guy comparable to what Tavares does best bunting already that would cost the minimum and we could have used that money to legitimately improve this club. I wouldnt care if the Reds went ridonkulous and offered up Manny (for example) 3 years and 75 mil (with some clauses to keep Manny "happy") or someone like Pat Burrell who would actually ADD something to this team not waste it on Willy Tavares when you know he cant hit worth a darn and his only + is bunting and speed. Even if he could just get doubles I wouldnt be so hard on him. But in the Grand Canyon of baseball parks COORS he couldnt even hit 20 in a season. Hes going to hit even fewer here.