When Bobby Abreu came to the plate against Jose Valverde in the ninth inning of today's game, it was his 433rd plate appearance of the season. Combined with last year's 667 plate appearances, it gives him an even 1,100 plate appearances from 2010-2011. That vests his 2012 option, worth $9MM.
Abreu, 37, has hit a respectable .264/.380/.354 in those 433 PA this year, though his power numbers continue to decline with age. His 67 walks are the sixth most in baseball, but he doesn't contribute anything with the glove and has spent 73 games at DH this season. Cot's Baseball Contracts shows the team's commitments for next season, and only Vernon Wells ($24.6MM), Torii Hunter ($18MM), Dan Haren ($11MM), and Ervin Santana ($11.2MM) are scheduled to make more than Abreu. Jered Weaver figures to climb ahead of him in his third trip through arbitration.
