West Links: Abreu, Ishikawa, Trumbo
Here's the latest out of baseball's two West divisions…
- Bobby Abreu had other offers before choosing to sign with the Dodgers, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). He liked the idea of returning to the NL and knows manager Don Mattingly from his time with the Yankees.
- The Giants offered Travis Ishikawa a minor league contract to return during the offseason, but he signed with the Brewers because they offered a better opportunity to Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. Mat Gamel's injury opened the door for Ishikawa to play everyday.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports speculates (on Twitter) that Mark Trumbo of the Angels would be a good fit for the Blue Jays. He says it's hard to see Toronto trading a reliever while Sergio Santos is still on the DL, however.
Dodgers, Bobby Abreu Agree To Deal
The Dodgers have reached agreement on a deal with Bobby Abreu, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The Peter E. Greenberg & Associates client will serve as a bat off of the bench and a part-time outfielder.
On Wednesday, we learned that the Dodgers were in serious talks with the 38-year-old. The Angels released Abreu one week ago and will be on the hook for the remainder of his $9MM salary. Abreu's new deal could be for as little as the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum.
Abreu took a step back in 2011 as he hit .253/.353/.365 with eight homers in 142 games. He openly complained about his reduced role with the club and got off to a slow start in 2012, prompting his release. The Angels appeared to have struck a deal for Abreu with the Indians in March but Cleveland balked at the portion of his salary they were being asked to pay.
The slugger hopes to play for two or three more seasons, according to Heyman (via Twitter).
Dodgers In Serious Talks With Bobby Abreu
The Dodgers are in serious talks with Bobby Abreu, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Details still need to be worked out, so the deal is not yet done.
The Angels released the 38-year-old Abreu late last week, and earlier today we heard that several NL teams have expressed interest. Abreu posted a .353 on-base percentage with 21 stolen bases and 78 walks last year, but got off to a slow start in 2012. He is a client of Peter E. Greenberg & Associates and is available for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum at this point. The Angels are responsible for the remainder of his $9MM salary.
Bobby Abreu Drawing Interest
Free agent outfielder/DH Bobby Abreu is drawing interest from some National League teams, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). The Angels released the left-handed hitter over the weekend, making him a free agent.
Abreu started the 2012 season slowly for the Angels, who didn't have room for him on a roster full of outfielders and DH options. However, the 38-year-old posted a .353 on-base percentage with 21 stolen bases and 78 walks last year. Abreu, a client of Peter E. Greenberg & Associates, is available for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum at this point. The Angels are responsible for the remainder of his $9MM salary. The Tigers aren't actively pursuing Abreu, Morosi writes.
Bobby Abreu Links: Angels, Wells, Trout, Yankees
Here's some of the fallout from last night's news that the Angels had released 17-year veteran Bobby Abreu….
- There's already moderate interest in Abreu, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- Abreu doesn't have any hard feelings about his release, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. “There’s not really any bitterness — it’s just a tough situation here,” Abreu said. “I’m going to wait and see what happens. I’m going to talk to my agent, make some calls, see who’s interested. I’m going to keep working and be ready.”
- The Angels released the wrong player in dropping Abreu and keeping Vernon Wells, opines Fangraphs' Paul Swydan. Abreu is set to earn $9MM in 2012 while Wells is owed $63MM through 2014 but Wells' contract is already "a sunk cost." Swydan argues that Abreu is better suited for a pinch-hit role than Wells and, as a left-handed bat, Abreu brought balance to an otherwise right-handed Angels outfield.
- The Angels' busy Friday (releasing Abreu, calling up Mike Trout and elevating Scott Downs to the closer's job over Jordan Walden) is a sign that the team is already feeling the pressure of high preseason expectations, writes ESPN Los Angeles' Mike Saxon.
- Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog thinks the Yankees might have an interest in Abreu as at least a short-term fix while Brett Gardner is on the DL. New York tried to acquire Abreu for A.J. Burnett in the offseason, before Burnett blocked the deal to avoid playing on the west coast.
Poll: What’s Next For Bobby Abreu?
Having lost five in a row and eight of their last ten games, the Angels remade their roster a bit last night by releasing Bobby Abreu and calling up top prospect Mike Trout. Trout will play everyday as the team hopes he injects some life into their season, but Abreu’s situation is a little less rosy.
The 38-year-old outfielder/DH was hitting just .208/.259/.333 in 27 plate appearances before being cut loose. Although his power output has steadily declined with age, Abreu still offers one of the game’s best batting eyes and has stolen at least 20 bases every year since 1998. Abreu also has a track record of durability, having played in no fewer than 140 games every season since breaking into the league full-time. His ability to hit left-handed pitching has disappeared later in his career, and defense was never his strong suit.
The Halos are on the hook for Abreu’s $9MM salary, less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum if another team signs him to a Major League contract. He was vocal about his dislike for his reduced role, and the Angels were “trying feverishly” to trade him at the outset of the season. They appeared to have a taker in the Indians before the deal fell apart. Now that he’s available on the open market for the most minimal of costs, what does the future hold for Abreu?
Will a team sign Bobby Abreu?
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Yes, to a big league contract 47% (3,143)
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Yes, to a minor league contract 42% (2,794)
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No 11% (771)
Total votes: 6,708
Quick Hits: Abreu, Dodgers, Padres, Harper
Friday Night Links..
- There doesn't seem to be any natural fit for Bobby Abreu now that the Indians have Johnny Damon, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Scouts don't think that the veteran can play in the outfield anymore and might have to start out in Triple-A.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) says that Abreu would not fit with the Dodgers or any other National League team except as a pinch hitter and he can't play defense regularly.
- The O’Malley group has signed documents to gain access to the Padres' financial information and apparently has raised sufficient equity to buy the club, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It appears that the group values the club at less than half of the Dodgers’ $2.15 billion sale price, and perhaps significantly less.
- The Nationals' promotion of Bryce Harper looks like a panic move to Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) rather than a well thought-out developmental plan.
Angels Release Bobby Abreu
The Angels announced that they have released veteran Bobby Abreu. The outfielder was in the final season of his three-year contract extension with the Halos and is set to make $9MM.
The move will help pave the way for the promotion of Mike Trout, who is on his way from Triple-A, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Manager Mike Scioscia says that Trout "will play", DiGiovanna tweets, while MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez tweets that it seems that the 20-year-old will play everyday.
The slugger has been outspoken about his reduced role with the club since the offseason and there has been a great deal of speculation that his tenure with the Angels was coming to an end. The 38-year-old was said to be warming up to his backup role at the start of the season but Jerry Dipoto & Co. were said to be "feverishly" shopping him.
The Halos appeared to have a taker for Abreu in late March when they had advanced discussions with the Indians. The deal apparently fell apart over how much of Abreu's $9MM salary would be covered by the Angels.
Stark On Nationals, Trumbo, Abreu, Orioles
Earlier today, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported that MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to stop including personal services deals and milestone bonus clauses in player contracts. He offers some reaction and detail in today’s column to go along with more rumors from around the league. Here are the highlights:
- One prominent agent says the aforementioned changes more make it more difficult to add dollars to contracts without counting them against the luxury tax.
- The Nationals still want to move John Lannan, but his slow start at Triple-A (7.50 ERA in three starts) is limiting his trade value.
- The Nationals aren’t trying to trade Roger Bernadina, Stark reports. Right now Washington is thin on outfield depth, so they’re probably not in a position to trade outfielders away.
- Some teams wonder if the Angels should shop Mark Trumbo for a controllable reliever. There’s no indication the Angels are looking to trade Trumbo, but they’re “trying feverishly” to move Bobby Abreu, Stark reports.
- Scouts say the Orioles would “do anything” to trade third baseman Mark Reynolds and right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg.
AL West Notes: Rangers, Abreu, Gonzalez
Gabe Kapler and Ivan Rodriguez each hit two homers April 3, 2000 as the Rangers celebrated an Opening Day victory over the White Sox. The Rangers have another season-opening date with the White Sox on Friday when both teams open their 2012 campaigns. Here's the latest from the AL West…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels doesn't expect his club to finalize any contract extensions before Opening Day, he told reporters (including MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan), but Daniels is still hopeful since, "all it takes is one conversation to pick something up again." While the team prefers to have contract talks settled by Opening Day, Daniels said he is open to negotiating during the season, "if we are able to handle it quietly and not let it be a distraction." We heard earlier today that Texas is talking about a six-year extension with Ian Kinsler.
- An unnamed Angels player says Bobby Abreu is becoming more accepting of his backup job with the team, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Abreu has spoken out about his reduced role and the Halos are known to be shopping him, with one potential deal with the Indians falling through earlier this week.
- The Athletics released right-hander Edgar Gonzalez last week, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the A's in November. Gonzalez posted a 5.00 ERA in 26 appearances (25 of them starts) for the Rays and Rockies' Triple-A affiliates last season, appearing in one Major League game with Colorado. The veteran righty has a 5.90 ERA in 107 career appearances with the Rockies, A's and Diamondbacks since 2003.