Baseball Musings: No Arbitration for Abreu

December 01, 2008

No Arbitration for Abreu

The Yankees do not offer arbitration to any of their big name free agents, including Bobby Abreu. I have to agree with YFSF here:

I am surprised, and not in the pleasant way, that the Yanks are following this tack, especially in the case of Abreu. What's the best that can be said about these conservative moves? That they're fiscally responsible? Woo hoo!!! (Will ticket prices be going down then as well?) That they're saving money to throw at players who will require longer and riskier deals? That the Gerritt Cole experience was so traumatic, they felt it best to avoid the tempation of draft picks altogether?

I understand Pettitte and Giambi, but Abreu was worth the risk of arbitration. Even if Bobby accepted, the Yankees could then sign him at a reasonable price and trade him. If nothing else, the Yankees certainly have made a break with the past.

Update: River Ave. Blues has the transcript of Brian Cashman's statement. It comes down to the Yankees not thinking that Pettitte and Abreu not being worth the money an arbitrator would award. They are not adverse to re-signing either.

Posted by David Pinto at 07:39 PM | Free Agents | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Abreu isn't as good as people think. Sure, he puts up good counting numbers, but almost anyone can drive in 100 RBI on the Yankees in the 3rd spot. His atrocious defense takes away any offensive advantage he has. $16M is a joke for him at this point in his career.

Posted by: sabernar at December 1, 2008 09:20 PM

I agree that Abreu can be overrated, and yes $16M is a joke, but I think you are selling him short here. Firstly, his defense is really not as bad as people say. The only thing he does terribly on defense is shy away from the walls (which, in Yankee Stadium's RF, are basically three steps away in three directions, but...).

And with his "good counting numbers" you failed to mention his ridiculous OBP (which mean run production in the aforementioned lineup, specifically in front of A-Rod), good AVG with runners in scoring position, and one of the league's highest number of pitches seen per plate appearance, which often means more fatigue, better pitches to hit for the hitters that follow, earlier calls to the bullpen. I'm not saying the Yankees should have definitely offered him arbitration what with their crowded outfield and ambitious spending plans this off-season, but this decision was not exactly a no-brainer.

Posted by: Alex at December 1, 2008 10:21 PM

Ridiculous OBP? Abreu's 2008 OBP was .371. Good? Sure, but not outstandingly so, and it was .369 in 2007. He's not the same player he was back in 2004. And his defense really WAY atrocious last year. Check all the different metrics, they all point to the fact that he was one of the worst outfielders in MLB in 2008.

While the Yankees might not be able to replace him with a guy with identical numbers (or better), they can come close for a LOT less than $16M (Nady made $7M last year and had a better OPS+). The Yankees would do better spending that money elsewhere, or maybe even not spending it all (or use it as signing bonuses for Latin American amateurs).

Posted by: sabernar at December 2, 2008 01:09 AM

I don't know about defensive metrics, but I know what I saw with my own two eyes. I witnessed a grown man- a healthy, strong adult male- fear playing defense on the warning track because the wall is there.

Posted by: Sal at December 2, 2008 02:55 AM

Abreau is like a HS kid playing the OF who can't play anything hit over his head. Kind of surprising for a guy who can still run enuf to steal bases but can't get anything in the OF. He's turning into another DH and if NYY wants to get younger he's a good place to start (along with Giambi). He could probably help somebody as a LF/DH type but not for $16M.

Posted by: Bandit at December 2, 2008 12:26 PM