Abreu & Damon DFA

A little over a week ago Hideki Matsui was designated for assignment by the Rays. Now, two other former Yankees have met the same fate, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu.

Damon was DFA by the Indians yesterday:

On Friday, August 3 the Cleveland Indians said farewell to veteran outfielder Johnny Damon, designating him for assignment. Like MLB.com's Jordan Bastian noted in his coverage the veteran outfielder foresaw the end coming, commenting back on July 21 "If we're not in contention I'll be the first one they drop." A week-long losing streak pretty much ended any reasonable playoff hopes the Tribe possessed.

... In 64 games he put together just a .222 batting average while garnering four home runs and 19 RBIs.

And thanks to their acquisition of Shane Victorino, Abreu lost his roster sport with the Dodgers:

Two-time All-Star Bobby Abreu has been designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers to make room on the 25-man roster for newly acquired left fielder Shane Victorino.

Abreu was signed as a free agent on May 4 after he was released by the Angels. He batted .251 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 70 games as a part-time left field and pinch-hitter.

I enjoyed rooting for all three of these guys so it's kinda sad to see their careers end up like this, but it is what it is.

See you all on Old Timers' Day.

Abreu Signs One-Year Deal With Angels

According to Jon Heyman the Angels have signed former Yankee Bobby Abreu to a one-year deal worth just over $5 million. The deal also includes some incentives.

Abreu, who turns 35 next month, joins an accomplished group of outfielders with the Angels that starts with Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera, who unlike Abreu are all righthanded hitters. Gary Matthews Jr., another Angels outfielder, is also righthanded.

Nothing like a 70% paycut for "the only player in major-league history with 200 home runs, 300 stolen bases, a .400 on-base percentage and a .300 batting average."

White Sox Offer Abreu One-Year Deal

UPDATE 4:32 p.m. from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick:

Negotiations between the Chicago White Sox and free-agent outfielder Bobby Abreu stalled early this week after the team floated the possibility of a one-year, $8 million contract, said a baseball source.

According to the source, the White Sox have some interest in acquiring Abreu and adding a pitcher, but Williams can't make those moves unless he trades right fielder Jermaine Dye and his $11.5 million salary. And the team has made little or no headway in trade talks involving Dye.

Roger Ruben of the NY Daily News is reporting that the Chicago White Sox have made a one-year, $8 million offer to former Yankee right fielder Bobby Abreu. I believe this is the first offer he's received, and it's well below the money and three-year deal he had been hoping for.

I'm very surprised that the Mets have not gotten involved. To me, he'd be a nice fit for them, but it was reported again today that they're not interested.

Some Saturday Links

- First off Paul Catalano of Dugout Central has a great article about how the Yankees and their spending is NOT bad for baseball.

Sportswriters declared this winter: “Just declare the Yankees the champions. Why have a World Series?” “The Yankees are bad for baseball.” And my favorite, from Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “The New York Yankees represent the very worst of America.”

Oh, please. The Yankees are the best thing to happen to baseball. There is a reason that when the Yankees visit a city, the home team breaks attendance records. (In 2004, when the Yankees visited Los Angeles, the Dodgers recorded over 55, 000 fans in attendance, or the highest recorded attendance in 31 years – including World Series games.) There is a reason that when the Yankees play an away game on a getaway day, the game is scheduled at night, even though most teams play day games on getaway days. Why? Because the local television wants to broadcast the games at night when people are home from work, because they know they will get the highest ratings of almost any game that year.... Read On

- Peter Gammons says 2009 will be a year that celebrate youth in baseball.

In this post-amphetamine, post-HGH, post-steroids, post-whatever era, 35 is the new 40, or, as Hall of Famer Jim Bunning said in the congressional hearings three years ago, "when I played, when you turned 35, you were old." And it may be that way again, no matter how much better the nutrition, how much better the training, or how many more players are devotees of Athletes Performance Institute and its ilk.

Dave Studenmund has a great piece in this year's Hardball Times Annual about the greening of baseball, or how the game is getting younger. Studenmund points out that the decline in average age between 2007 and 2008 was the largest in major league history and that 24 of the 30 teams got younger between 2007 and 2008. The Twins were the youngest team in the major leagues at 25.5, and won 88 games without the great Johan Santana, one fewer win than the New York Mets.

- Jon Heyman lists the top 20 remaining free agents, the three (former) Yankees, Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettitte, and Jason Giambi did make the list. Surprisingly, Abreu got topped his list.

1. Bobby Abreu, OF. He's a better player than folks seem to be giving him credit for. Sure, he won't run into walls; but hey, the cautious approach keeps him healthy. Abreu, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols are the only three players with at least 100 RBIs in each of the past six years. Looks like he may be California Dreamin', with the A's, Angels and Dodgers all possibilities, plus Tampa Bay.

- Did you know Bucky Dent played high school baseball with Mark Teixeira's father John? Kevin Kernan of the NY Post has the story.

- Jack Curry of the NY Times discusses the terrible trip Don Larsen had to endure when he went to tape an interview for the MLB Network about his perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

- Peter Abraham goes over a few things that make him crazy; the Joba debate, people that think the Yankees should sign Manny or Orlando Hudson, hating on young players, the idea of trading for Erik Bedard, and the idea of trading Hideki Matsui. Check it out here.

Yanks Offer Arbitration to Nobody

Peter Abraham is reporting that the Yankees did not, and will not offer any of their eligible players arbitration. More info as it comes....

Here's what Abraham said about the Yankees reasoning behind this:

It came down to economics. The Yankees did not want to risk going to arbitration with any of their players given the salaries they made last season.

He also said that Cashman said the Yankees "remain engaged with Pettitte and Abreu."

And here's a quote from Brian Cashman, also from Peter Abraham:

“The determination we made today was to make sure that we control what amount we’d be spending at least in the event that we’re fortunate enough to bring those players back. We did not want to put ourselves in a position of having that determined by a third party without knowing what that figure would be. The arbitration time period falls in early February, so obviously as we attempt to put this team together, in Andy’s case and Bobby’s case, they made $16 million last year. It’s been tough in the past to try and deviate from previous years earnings in an arbitration setting. We wanted to be able to control the cost that we would allocate for every position on the club.

“Even though we wanted draft picks if we lost anybody, by offering arbitration we would lose out ability to determine a final cost. So by doing so, we chose to go a different direction, not offer arbitration and we’ll still stay engaged with the entire free agent market including those two players.”

Deadline Day for Arbitration Decisions

From Anthony McCarron:

The Yankee offseason - and the future of the club's player development - could be affected by Monday's arbitration deadline, a little bit of baseball bookkeeping that could influence Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte likely would earn around the $16 million he's pocketed the last two seasons if he accepts arbitration, but it seems unlikely the Yanks will offer it - if they wanted to pay Pettitte that much money, he'd likely already have been re-signed. Instead, the team wants him to take a pay cut after a 14-14 season.

Abreu is seeking a three-year deal, something the Yankees apparently have no interest in, because they have not engaged his agent since the end of the season.

Jason Giambi won't be offered arbitration by the Yankees because they have no incentive to do so - he's not a Type A or B free agent, so they wouldn't get compensation elsewhere and, who knows, he might accept.

Other Yankees free agents that could, but won't be offered arbitration are Carl Pavano and Ivan Rodriguez.

The Yankees get draft picks if any of they offer any of their free agents arbitration and he signs with another team. If the player is a Type A free agent and signs elsewhere, the Yanks will get that team's first-round pick plus a supplemental first-round pick. If it's a Type B free agent the Yankees only get the supplemental pick.

And here's MLB.com's explanation for how the arbitration process works.

I think the Yankees should offer Abreu arbitration just for the picks. He's a Type A free agent, and he probably won't accept it because he probably already know he can get the kind of deal he wants from another team. Ken Davidoff believes the Yankees will offer Abreu arbitration.

But they're apparently not going to offer Pettitte arbitration, which is fine, I'd be happy if they did, but I can understand why they don't want to pay him close to the $16 MM they did last year. But I still think they need to get him resigned pretty soon.

UPDATE from Joel Sherman:

For months that had been a foregone conclusion. The Yanks figured they would offer Abreu arbitration, that he would refuse and that he would then sign somewhere else with the Yankees recouping both a first-round pick and a sandwich pick in next June's draft because Abreu is ranked as a Type-A free agent.

However, the Yankees have now become worried that the market is so stalled that Abreu just might accept their offer of arbitration with the idea of going back into free agency next offseason when the economy is better. Abreu made $16 million last year and had a strong enough season that he would not receive a paycut in the arbitration process. Thus, the Yanks might be looking at, say, a $17 million Bobby Abreu next year if he decided to accept arbitration.

It would be a big problem if the Yankees got stuck with Abreu for another year. They already have Damon, Nady, Matsui, and possibly Swisher fighting for playing time at a corner outfield position and DH, adding Abreu would just create more of a mess.

Yanks Will Offer Abreu Arbitration

From Jon Heyman:

The Yankees have decided to offer star outfielder Bobby Abreu arbitration, people familiar with their thinking tell SI.com. However, it remains more likely that he will sign elsewhere as a free agent.

The Yankees are in fact very likely making the offer with the anticipation he will sign with another team, and should that occur they will net two draft choices as Abreu is a Type A free agent. Abreu would stand to make about $16 million in arbitration after making that much last year...

Abreu is said to be seeking a three-year deal. The Cubs and Mets are seen as among the most likely suitors for Abreu.

This was obviously expected, it was the only choice the Yankees had.

Abreu's First Choice is to Stay With the Yanks

From the NY Daily News:

If you want something out of the ordinary this offseason, try this on for size: the top right fielder on the free-agent market is a Yankee, wants to stay a Yankee, and the Yankees might let him walk away.

You read that right. Bobby Abreu’s stated first choice this winter is to remain in the Bronx, but the Bombers have a surplus of outfielders - Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner, Hideki Matsui and Xavier Nady - under contract, in addition to the organization’s top hitting prospect, Austin Jackson.

“Bobby’s definitely very happy with the Yankees and he’s enjoyed his time with the Yankees, and it’s his first choice to come back,” said Chris Leible, one of Abreu’s agents. “But it’s just wait and see what happens.”

There was also this from George A. King III:

The Yankees have discussed internally about retaining the left-handed hitter who will be 35 in March on a one-year contract even if it means his salary being determined through the arbitration process.

The Yankees will offer Abreu arbitration by Dec. 7 for two reasons. If he declines, they receive draft picks when he signs with another team. If Abreu accepts arbitration, he is considered a signed player.

I've said before that I don't think the Yankees should bring him back and I still believe that. He's very good offensively, but he's become a liability on the defensive side of the ball, and the Yankees must improve defensively. Bill James' Fielding Bible ranked Abreu the second worst right fielder in the game with a -24 on the plus/minus ratings.

Moose and Abreu Looking for Three-Year Deals

We kind of knew this already since they both hinted at it over the last few weeks of the season, but anyway, here it goes...

First, from the Rocky Mountain News:

Right-hander Mike Mussina, 39, indicated that if he returns to the Yankees, he would like a three-year deal. Mussina, whose 18-year career has been spent with the Orioles and Yankees, also is hinting that if he doesn't return to the Yankees, he could retire because he doesn't want to become a vagabond.

And now for Bobby Abreu from the NY Daily News:

Abreu has said several times that he would like to remain with the Yankees, having enjoyed his 2-1/2-year stint in pinstripes. But the 34-year-old also is seeking at least a three year-contract, leading most baseball insiders to believe the outfielder will wind up in a new uniform this winter.

I don't think the Yankees should give Abreu three years, and with Nady, Damon, and Matsui on the team it probably doesn't make much sense to bring him back at all. I love what he brings to the table offensively, but he's becoming a liability on defense, and should only get worse over the next three years. If the Yanks decide to offer him arbitration and bring him back for a year, fine, but three? No thanks.

On the other hand, I would probably give Mussina if that's the only way they can get him back. I know it's risky, especially with a 40 year old pitcher, but he showed this year he can make the adjustments needed to still be a very effective pitcher. He didn't go 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA by accident. Also in the short-term it makes much more sense for the Yankees to sign Mussina than Abreu. They need starting pitching in '09, and Mussina was the best they had this year.

So there's what I would do; keep Moose (even for three years - hey, at least we'll probably get to see him win no. 300), and I'd let Abreu walk. What would you do?

Get Abreu Out of the Three-Hole

I'm listening to Max Kellerman right now and he's been talking about this, and he has a good point.

Steve Lombardi of WasWatching.com wrote about it earlier this week as well.

Why do the Yankees continue to bat someone with a who is hitting .275/.346/.439 third? You know, the spot where you're supposed to have your best hitter? In June and July he's hitting just .239 with 3 HR, and 23 RBI. Maybe this is one of the reason's this offense has struggled so much.
Bat him second, bat him sixth, bat him seventh, I don't really care, but just get him out of the three-hole.

Here try something like this tonight Girardi:

Jeter SS
Gardner LF
A-Rod 3B
Giambi DH
Posada C
Abreu RF
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Melky CF

or this,

Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A-Rod 3B
Giambi DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Melky CF
Gardner LF

Damon: Yankees Will Make Postseason

From The Daily News:

"We're going to be in the postseason," Damon told the Daily News on Thursday. "I think we're one of the teams to beat."

"Toronto probably has the best top-to-bottom pitching around, and the Red Sox, coming off their championship, they're going to be tough," Damon said. "We're hoping to go out and win the East, but if not, we were able to fall back on the wild card last year. I think we have as good a chance as anybody (to win the World Series)."

"We don't just have young guys coming in, we have young stud pitchers coming in," Damon said. "We're going to have to see what they're made of. Most teams would call this a rebuilding process, but we look at it as a positive for us."

Although I'm not a fan of predictions and guarantees from players, I see nothing wrong with Damon showing confidence in his team like this. He's an outspoken guy and has always made statements like this.

He also said that reports saying that he was close to retiring before last season were overblown:

"It's something that has crossed my mind for several years, but there was no way I was going to walk at that time," Damon said. "The season was too close.

In other news from Tampa, Peter Abraham reports that Bobby Abreu is another Yankee who arrived at camp in great shape, and he finally admits that last year he wasn't:

Since he was determined to arrive at spring training in better condition than he was in last season. He reported to camp at 215 pounds, 10 fewer than last season.

"I feel better. I was working hard all winter," Abreu said. "I knew I came in out of shape last year, and I didn't want that to happen again. I ran more and lifted more weights."

Abreu's poor production was one of the reasons the Yankees fell 14 1/2 games out of first place before the end of May.

"I got off to a slow start and I struggled all first half. I don't want to say it was because I was out of shape, but that didn't help," Abreu said. "Once I got in shape and I could run better, I had a pretty good second half."