Angels Re-Sign Bobby Abreu

Good move by the Angels

That was quick. I figured he'd shop around.

purple...i thought the same thing..

Haha I guess he didn't want to wait like last year. Anyways good move by the Halos though they should DH him more.

I hope for the Angels sake they got him for 20MM or less. If he denied 2/16MM, i wonder what it could be. My guess is 2/20MM

Yes! Happy to be an Angels fan right now!

great move for the Halos ... the Mets and countless others would have been all over this guy had he become a FA

Great move by the Angels. Now the Hot Stove just got a little less interesting.

Well that was quick, few more moves like this and we'll be out of baseball chat by christmas!

Assuming that it is not for more than 20 million this is a great deal for the Angels, I really thought that Abreu would try and see what other offers were out there.

I don't think he wanted to make the same mistake twice. He turned down 2yrs/$18M from the Rays (same offer Pat Burrell accepted) and then nothing else came his way.

Great move by both parties. I'd now say 2yrs/$18 w/ a vesting option for a 3rd year at $6-7M.

Great! Now sign Figgins!

Great deal for the Angels bad move for Bobby. It's not that Bobby did bad with the Angels or didn't make a good amount of money in this deal, but rather he was given an even better deal before by the Angels. He could of also had the luxury of other teams opening up their wallets to him and pressuring the Angels to resign him even more. Oh well at least both sides are happy!

"but rather he was given an even better deal before by the Angels."

What are you talking about?

What a steal! I bet a handful of teams were willing to shell out 12 million.

I think this also sets the market for Figgins. If Abreu got 2/20 guaranteed what do you give a guy like Figgins?

He is younger, faster, has similar OB skills, and plays premium defense at 3B. I bet he gets offers in the 4/50 range.

Great move by the Angels. Now, Sign John Lackey quickly.

Give Brandon Wood a Chance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a real chance

Great hitter, good base running skills but terrible fielder.

I think it was a fair move.

Perhaps a slight edge to Abreu if the option vests. The guy is never injured so it's likely that this deal will end up being 27 mil/3 years

I don't know if giving him another year at age 38 would be a good idea but we'll see.

He'd be worth more if he DH's because his defense is that bad. (Yes, it does sound counter intuitive) Plus, he only get worse defensively as he approaches his late 30's.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a great move. They have bigger needs, and locking up an aging DH wasn't the highest on the list.

I would imagine this ends Vlad's Angel career.

The Angels biggest need is locking up John Lackey. That should be their sole focus. If Figgins leaves then you have Brandon Wood and you could totally justify giving him his shot. If Wood fails, then you move in Izturis for the remainder of the year or you trade for a third baseman.

Losing Lackey would be very damaging to the rotation. I don't like Weaver as an ace of the staff, but in the 2nd spot, sure. Saunders is also a very good #2 pitcher and in the 3rd spot he wins a lot of games. Same with Kazmir in the 4th spot and Santana as the 5th, but both can also be very inconsistent. I simply do not like the ripple effect of losing Lackey.

I agree, I have to imagine Vlad's career with the Angels is over. I wouldn't be surprised if Abreu becomes their every day DH and they either seek a RF within?? or perhaps trade for someone.

Indeed all the writing is on the wall for Lackey to resign with Anaheim. He has the best chance there to play in the post season year after year. More teams in the NL one, many who are competitive and two, I just don't see him slapping Scoscia in the face by going to the Dodgers. When you think about it, where else would he go and who would really pay that money? I can be certain the Yanks are not in. Maybe the Met's, maybe the Phils, but they should work on Lee first, so I see it as the Angels ultimately. Get it done.

picks in baseball arent like picks in football. look how many picks we got last year and who knows when we will see any of these guys up in majors if ever i mean Mr. Angel Tim Salmon was like a 30th round pick and Mike Piazza was only picked up in the 30th round cuz he was lassordas godson. I like the idea of picking up a cheap Dh but thats just not the Angels style they like to use the DH to give outfielders a day off here and there so Abreu yeah lack of defense aside can spell people in the outfield when needed and it still doesnt mean we cant sign Holliday or Bay. Now the Lackey issue I like Lackeys style and hed be a #1 starter on a lot of teams just not championship teams like the 2 that made the world series hed be a #2 on both those teams and anyone that watches the Angels will agree that lackey lets his emotions get the best of him to the point that it affects his pitching like when he didnt get the 3rd strike call against the yankees in game 5 he mouthed off to the ump and walked the next batter on 4 pitches that werent close..he implodes showing up his team mates for making errors yelling at them on the field but you didnt see the fielders yell at Lackey when he grooves a pitch thats crushed for a mile...Dont get me wrong Id like to sign him but i think another pitcher is out there that would give us a comparible rotation and perhaps a little cheaper...Rich Harden

If figgy goes Aybar will lead off

Thundah - you mention guys that were picked late. Do you want a list of superstars who were picked in the 1st round? It's a crapshoot for sure, but your odds of success are much higher if you have good draft picks.

I love how people automatically assume that Wood is the next Dallas McPherson. They are both power hitting infielders who have a high K rate. Of course, there are plenty of successful power hitters in the bigs with high K rates. Somehow those guys are never the comparison.

Wood has had the equivalent of half a season spread out over 3 years. Any hitter will tell you that it's hard to find a groove when you aren't regularly playing. Makes it extra hard if you are on the shuttle between Provo and LA three of four times a year.

If Figgins walks you let Wood man 3rd. If he doesn't cut it you have Izturis who can play there. If those two options don't work you look at guys on the market. By July of next year you could see a player like Rolen available for just salary relief.

"Actually range saves a lot more runs than arm strength. Plus, he wouldn't have to use his arm as much if he would just catch more fly balls.

When he was a Yankee, I couldn't believe how many catch-able balls he let fall in. You almost never see him extend and/or dive. I guess this makes him less likely to get injured. Still, the guy hasn't had a plus defensive rating since 03."

I didn't say Abreu was a good defender. I said his arm does help negate a bit of the range issues. Further, he did seem to go after a few more balls as an Angel than he did with the Yankees, perhaps because he worried less about the RF wall. The most impressive was a play he didn't make, in that he perfectly played and timed his jump on A-Rod's homer off Fuentes.

"Also, it says that his option is based on PA's. This does not mean producing at a high level. Example: See Magglio."

The Tigers really didn't have anyone who could compare with Magglio at the time, even with his poor production. If Abreu is still putting up a .380+ OBP, that vesting option is fine. If not, and the Angels can find someone who betters his production, Scioscia will make no bones about benching him.

"I would imagine this ends Vlad's Angel career."

Don't be so sure. Vlad has made it known he will take a massive pay cut to stay with the Angels. If that means something around what Abreu made last year, he has value.

"They need to sign Lackey now and figure out 3B"

They need to sign Figgins.

"If figgy goes Aybar will lead off"

He didn't improve that much yet. I would almost say you lead off Abreu if Figgins goes.

"Mr. Angel Tim Salmon was like a 30th round pick and Mike Piazza was only picked up in the 30th round cuz he was lassordas godson."

Piazza was actually a 62nd round pick. Salmon was a 3rd round pick. What is amazing is that Pujols was a 13th round pick.

"With figgins leaving as well, that free's up a little extra cash. Don't think he'll be back either."

$6 million is a paltry sum for these guys. Also, given that he has always been the team's number 1 priority, I don't see them letting him go so easily.

"His steals are misleading. He doesn't have great speed any longer."

Abreu never had "great" speed. He is just one of the smartest baserunners (ALCS blunder excepted) around, especially when it comes to reading pitchers and catchers.

"As for his impact on Figgins ... review the numbers again. Here are his walk rates over the past few years. See if you notice a trend:"

Abreu's influence was far more noticeable on Aybar, Hunter and Morales than on Figgins.

"Losing Lackey would be very damaging to the rotation. I don't like Weaver as an ace of the staff, but in the 2nd spot, sure. Saunders is also a very good #2 pitcher and in the 3rd spot he wins a lot of games. Same with Kazmir in the 4th spot and Santana as the 5th, but both can also be very inconsistent. I simply do not like the ripple effect of losing Lackey."

Actually, the most talented of the five, by far, is Santana. If he is healthy next year, and going forward through his long term deal that most seem to forget he signed last year, Santana can be better than Lackey.

"I didn't say Abreu was a good defender. I said his arm does help negate a bit of the range issues. Further, he did seem to go after a few more balls as an Angel than he did with the Yankees, perhaps because he worried less about the RF wall. The most impressive was a play he didn't make, in that he perfectly played and timed his jump on A-Rod's homer off Fuentes."

We shouldn't be factoring in plays players don't make... Again, it doesn't matter about the arm because defensive metrics factor in the arm. If anything, I think Abreu knows he has a good arm and relies on it too much. Therefore, he lets more balls drop than take chances. Perhaps he has changed a little with his approach during his stay with the Angels... However, this still does not discount his defensive liabilities -- arm or not.

"The Tigers really didn't have anyone who could compare with Magglio at the time, even with his poor production. If Abreu is still putting up a .380+ OBP, that vesting option is fine. If not, and the Angels can find someone who betters his production, Scioscia will make no bones about benching him."

I really don't think you can just say that the Angels will automatically find someone if Abreu isn't hitting as well. In the end, you'll still be benching the guy if he under performs -- benching 9 million dollars. Plus, Abreu can file a grievance with the union if the Angels bench him specifically to stop him from vesting his option.

We also have to factor in Abreu's lack of power these last few seasons. The guy has seen his OPS and ISO numbers progressively decrease since 04. The man can get on base but he is starting to become a singles hitter. Is putting a singles hitter in the DH spot worth it? DH's are usually guys who drive in runs.

I really think that 3rd year will be the deal breaker.

Did he have it the year before that with his 5.76 ERA or how about this year with his 5.03 ERA and wow he was 6th in the Cy young race not much of a race 5 years 59 wins and 45 losses with a 4.52 ERA thats good? And if you dont think a persons mental make up matters in pitching then you dont know much about baseball

And saying Santana is a better pitcher than lackey is a joke Santanas season avgs 11 wins 9 losses 4.52 ERA Lackeys 13 wins 8 losses 3.81 ERA and you think Santanas 2008 season was better than any of Lackeys? ok lets see Santana 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA in 219 inn lackey in 2007 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA in 224 inn right

"However, this still does not discount his defensive liabilities -- arm or not."

No one was discounting his defensive issues.

Posted by: AA | November 05, 2009 at 05:49 PM

Then why bring up his arm in the first place? You said his "arm makes up for some of his defensive issues". That simply is not true.

"If he can produce the same as he did last year, Abreu will be well worth his contract."

If he can produce for all 3 years, then yes, you would be right.

However, he's nearing his 40's and his OPS and ISO have dipped ever since 04.

Imagine how many runs he would've drove in if he had more pop.

Plus, you have to subtract how many runs he'll give up as a fielder. (If you use him as a fielder)

"(Abreu) was severely underrated last year. This year he is overrated."

you watched the playoffs, didn't you?
abreu has never been as good as his numbers, never as good as his highest contracts

"I wouldn't necessarily call this a great move. They have bigger needs, and locking up an aging DH wasn't the highest on the list.
I would imagine this ends Vlad's Angel career."

sadlu, they failed to take full advantage of the vladdy years
they still don't understand that they are competing ith the yankees, sox, etc. winning the AL West has less and less meaning each time they do it.
is mike scoscia becoming the next bobby cox (great regular-season manager)

"Santana does have the best 'stuff' of any angels pitcher but the problem with him is he doesnt have the mental make up no killer instinct."

santana, napoli and wood to jays for doc halladay

AA:

"Actually, the most talented of the five, by far, is Santana. If he is healthy next year, and going forward through his long term deal that most seem to forget he signed last year, Santana can be better than Lackey."

Really? Santana is at best an inconsistent pitcher: Good in '06. Terrible in '07. Great in '08. Bad in '09. He has promise no doubt, but his lack of consistency is why he is a fifth starter on the Angels staff. There is a reason he didn't start in the post season and when he did pitch it wasn't that impressive.