Yankees To Offer Up Abreu?

Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record talked to one Major League executive who believes the Yankees are likely to shop outfielder Bobby Abreu to the NL this month.  The key would be the Yankees paying a portion of the $10MM coming to Abreu this year.

Abreu still has a $16MM option for 2008 with a $2MM buyout attached.  If he has a few more months like June - .290/.408/.470 - the option could still be picked up.  The Yanks could exercise it and then look to trade him during the offseason.  The cost certainty and one-year commitment might be attractive to some teams, even if Abreu is basically now Brian Giles.  The Yankees are currently 12 games out in the AL East and 8.5 out in the Wild Card race.  Nonetheless, their playoff chances fall in the 11-18% range based on the various simulations out there.  It's not quite time to fold it in and play for next year. 

However, if the Yankees keep losing and are more officially out of it in three weeks, Abreu seems the most logical choice to be traded.  Kyle Farnsworth is a no-brainer as well.  Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera could all become free agents after the season, but I can't see any of them getting traded.

Abreu would be a nice fit in Arizona as a summer rental, in my opinion.

Comments

[PhillyRocks]

And Philly Fans killed the Phils because they didn't get anything for him. Hmmm, maybe this is why?

[Not Joe Morgan]

What great about Phillies fans is that Victorino is putting up a season that would be Abreu's 9th best in Philadelphia yet he's beloved. Hmmm ...

[Yu Hsing Chen]

I kidna doubt they'll do it if only because of the lack of quality RF in the FA market... if they pull it they'll go into 08 with either a slap hitter type guy there (Melky / Ichrio / Fukudome ) or worse.

Farnsworth is a no brainer though. I could see them shop Proctor /Myers /Vizcaino maybe too.

[Yu Hsing Chen]

it's funny that NY basically have 3 guys that's exactly identical in Farnsworth / Proctor /Bruney, all 3 throws hard and have some good breaking balls, but none of them can get it over the plate consistently .

[BlackOps]

I'm not bringing anything to this discussion here, but I love Kyle.

[allabouthephils]

Not Joe Morgan,

Check out the last time Abreu went diving face first into the stands for a foul ball and missed with two outs in the 8th inning to try and preserve a lead... It's not the stats it's the effort... Victorino defines hustle, he runs out every ground ball, he has a cannon of an arm and he is a hell of a defensive outfield just because he hustles... Abreu lost his heart when he got his contract and that is why Philadelphia gave up on him... You have to be a native of Philadelphia to understand the relationship between the city and it's athletes... All we ask is that you try..... Victorino does, Abreu didn't.... Stats don't matter... Case and point.. Pat Burrell...

[ArodSucksAtLife]

1980

[PhillyRocks]

NotJoeMorgan,

You haven't watched Abreu and you haven't watched Victorino. Don't comment on something you never saw, obviously you haven't with that comment. Lets not forget STERIODS either. Hmmm!

[absolutroundthehorn]

Shopping Abreu is a great move. Take some pay-roll off the book, see if Melky can play everyday (he did fine last season) and then see if a new OF is needed for next year. Ichiro would be a great fit. Him leading off and Damon/Cano at the bottom give the team great balance up and down the lineup.

[Balls, Sticks, & Stuff]

Wait a minute, I think steroids allegations are a bit baseless when it comes to Abreu.

I loved Bobby, it was amazing to watch him continually turn an 0-2 count into a walk, but I think if you combine defense and offense, Victorino isn't much of a drop off from Abreu, plus, as someone above said, his hustle is infectious and inspiring.

[nrmax88]

Victorino atleast wants to win, is explosive, hard nose player, and he isnt scared of the wall. Abreu is a numbers guy, but basically for whatever reason (maybe coincidence, maybe not), he just doesnt help teams win in the long run. Strange.

[nrmax88]

Abreu is great at drawing walks, or atleast he was. But to your other point, steroid allegations for a guy who consistently hit 20-30 HRs year after year for like 10 years, and now has hit 20 in his last 250 games or so, during the biggest steroid investigation in sports doesnt seem so baseless to me.

[nrmax88]

I have no basis for this either, but I always looked at Abreu and though he was older then he was saying he was. Is there any chance that he isnt 33, and he is 35 or 36 and his skills are just starting to deteriorate. Again I have no basis for this just a thought, I always thought he looked kinda old.

[SierraM]

I love this Yankee team. I hope they keep this team together forever.

[Aduncaroo]

I still think the Cardinals should make a run at him. They are probably going to trade Reyes anyway, and the Yankees would probably be doing pretty well to take him. A good young starting pitcher that is cheap for years...and the Cardinals could really use the offense and OBP that Abreu should give. I don't know if they are going to be buyers or not, but they are only 7 1\2 out...so we'll see. They get Carpenter and Mulder back in the 2nd half, along with Edmonds. Jocketty has money that he pretty much just sat on all winter...so maybe he uses it at the deadline.

[Not Joe Morgan]

I haven't watched Abreu or Victorino? I'm a Yankees fan who has the MLB package and lives in Delaware (thus gets the Phillies games). I see both of these guys all the time. I also have the ability to take a step back and see that a "lazy" .900 OPS is better than a super-hustly sub .800 OPS every day of the week. You can dislike Abreu all you want, it doesn't change the numbers he put up and them not winning for years wasn't at all his fault. And I really love the perpetual Philadelphia complaint that Abreu "didn't try"; that's basically saying he was the next Joe Dimaggio if he did try. Just dumb.

[mschweber]

I wonder which part of Abreu's NO-TRADE clause Klapisch fails to understand the 'NO' or the 'TRADE'.

Or perhaps it's the part where Abreu said, when rumors of an Abreu-Dye trade surfaced, "I like it here [in New York]. I'm not going anywhere."

If the Yankees want to jettison Abreu they'll have to decline his option.

The Yankees were able to exercise Sheffield's option and trade him this past off-season because his contract didn't include a no-trade clause. Cashman doesn't have that latitude with Abreu.

[darkstar1661]

"I love this Yankee team. I hope they keep this team together forever"

Let me guess, BoSox fan? As a Tribe fan I say the same. :)

If they could get around the NoTrade part Bobby could bring some good return to a team having issues in the OF. The Dodgers, Cards and maybe even the Mets or Braves come to mind; think the bidding would get someone to offer up a top5 prospect for him? The only other option is Dye really, so its a thin market...