In his latest Rumblings & Grumblings column for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark says the Mets and Yankees have not pursued free-agent 2B Orlando Hudson this off season, despite Hudson’s comments on the MLB Network last week.
Instead, Stark believes Hudson may be looking at signing a one-year contract with the Nationals or Dodgers.
…i believe, once the Mets realized Luis Castillo could not be traded, and then committed to giving him the opportunity to succeed in spring training, it all but sealed hudson’s fate…
Speaking of one-year deals…
…from what i can gather, having talked with people 
connected to the player, Bobby Abreu has been reaching out to the Mets, as he is willing to accept a one-year deal to stay in New York and switch back to the National League…
…however, i have not heard his name mentioned by people connected to the team, which is not surprising, considering he’s yet another left-handed hitter, he’s not strong enough on defense to handle right in Citi Field, and he may still looking for $10 million per season…
{ 130 comments }
Abreu would obviously make our lineup better but should we be concerned that we have Delgado, Church and Schneider who also hit from the left side?
See my responce below. He hits LHP better than RHP.
Not to mention that he would most likely hit 2nd in the lineup between Reyes and Wright.
Response* – Spelling Police.
Responce…what a dumb thing to say…
responce: A reaction, as that of an organism or a mechanism, to a specific stimulus.
“he’s yet another left-handed hitter, he’s not strong enough on defense to handle right in Citi Field, and he may still looking for $10 million per season”
What a dumb thing to say.
He hits LHP better than RHP. So who cares what his handedness is?
He could play LF in NY if he wants to stay in NY so bad.
And at this point what does it matter what he is looking for? He will be lucky to get 5-8 million.
Yeah not sure why he would play RF. Church is clearly far superior to him defensively and RF is tougher than LF.
Thank you for calling me, “dumb.”
Anyway…
It matters that he is lefty because the team keeps saying publicly that they’re searching only for a right-handed bat – I’m not saying that’s smart, or should matter, I’m just trying to consider their plans when thinking about possible acquisitions.
It matters that he’s seeking even more than a few million dollars, because the team is supposedly not looking to spend more than that, let alone $10 million.
Cerrone,
I think he was just saying what you said was dumb, and while it may have been the wrong wordage, I don’t believe he meant that towards YOU.
I dunno, thats just what an outsider sees.
There’s a difference between:
You are dumb and what you said was dumb.
TRS obviously meant what you said.
Matt, if he reads the comments often, would know that I am a supporter of his and this blog. He would also know that I have been here since the first couple of months. He should know better than to think I was calling him dumb.
Thanks for not being able to read or for having a short temper.
IF I wanted to say that you were dumb I would have said
Matt you are dumb. Plenty of intelligent people make dumb comments. I do it all the time. Relax ultraego buddy. Whoops, that WOULD be name calling. See the difference?
I enjoy this site but I have found your comments more and more strange this offseason. Especially how defensive you are.
It all started when we revolted against the new comments format… Matt this is NY dont be a Willy Randolph ;)
I have also noted a lot more “As I said” look at me type post. I think that he may be trying too hard to live up to all the fame that he has been fortunate to obtain recently.
He just needs to relax and start having fun again. Before this was a hobby but now it’s taken such a large turn I wonderif he is not getting burned out a little?
udontmesswiththejohan slowly tip toeing his way out of the room backwards.
And again, I am asking why does it matter what he is seeking? No one in this market is getting what he is seeking. At this point Abreu will be luck to get 5-8 million as I said in the post.
Matt, my girlfriend does things like “thanks for calling me dumb” if I say something she said was dumb. Just saying.
Careful.. you might get banned…
Not concerned. It would prove my point about how defensive he has became.
I think bannishing me for some small criticsm proves that point.
For his career, Bobby Abreu has hit .308/.417/.534 against righties and .280/.372/.404 against lefties. How does that make him a better hitter against lefties?
Check the 2008 stats:
vs LHP-.315 .370 .495
vs RHP-.287 .372 .461
TRS is right as is usually the case…others on here were promoting Dye, as a RH bat, who hit about 30 points less than Abreu against LH last year.
I have posted again and again how many title teams from the Yanks of all eras to the 70s Reds to the 84 Tigers to the 2002 Angels etc etc etc have had many LH bats.
You get the best players, regardless of “handedness.”
They were 31-14 against LHSP last year so how is one more lefty a problem even if handedness was the only issue?
Why would you limit the analysis to 2008? He was hitting between Jeter and Arod in a ballpark where lefties can hit popups over the fence. The career numbers are a much more informative sample.
The career numbers are fine too. I don’t mind a 2 hitter with a .372 OBP.
And since Hamels is really the only tough lefty in the division, you could play Tatis out there when needed.
Abreu hits LHP just as well as RHP so it wouldn’t be that big of a problem…
As I’ve said before… Abreu, Ohman, and Aurllia, Game. Set. Match.
Hey Sylar, what happened to your show? It used to be good, now, not so much.
I truly made a mistake making this my username…
I actually enjoyed the final scene of the Volume 4 premiere. Very epic. Hopefully it’s a sign of some good things to come…
U shouldn’t have offed you mom either. That was cold man.
Can you do me a favor and off Peter? My wife thinks he’s hot! Thanks.
Abreu’s split against lefties are not that bad for his career. He does not hit with a lot of power against them, but his batting average is .280 as opposed to .308 against righties.
In fact, last year, he hit better against lefties.
All in all, it would not be a major concern for me.
could be an interesting option. i still think finding a left handed relief pitcher should be the mets number one priority.
bobby abreu is scared of a normal fence, i can’t even imagine him trying to navigate that bizzare right field setup at citifield.
He would play LF.
in that case the 18 foot wall will scare him.
Yet, he would still be as good of a defender as Tatis and Murphy.
You mean he won’t be trying to go over it, ala Endy?
That’s it. He’s out!
Imagine F-Mart being able to play the OF from Beltran, Abreu and Church. Nice.
Abreu’s agent is the Greenbergs who also represent Johan. Johan wants Abreu here. I know it doesn’t matter if they don’t have the money, but..
whats wrong with a guy that is a 300 avg, 20 HR , 100 RBI hitter?
reyes
castillo
abreu
wright
delgado
beltran
church
schneider
Absolutely nothing. However, I would go
Reyes
Abreu
Wright
Delgado
Beltran
Church
Schnieder/Castro
Castillo
That’s exactly what I would have done. Nice ball.
Or . . .
Castillo
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Delgado
Church
Abreu
Schnieder
Abreu
I’ll take 3 of them please, for C, 2B and LF.
Only problem is, at this point of his career, it is highly unlikey that Abreu would hit any of the 3 for the Mets.
Reyes
Abreu
Wright
Delgado
Beltran
Church
Castillo
Schneider
if Abreu came to NY, he would bat second…
Abreu is a Type-A free agent. That is what is wrong with him, among other things.
That doesn’t matter. We already gave up the pick for K-Rod. It would be a second-rounder that we would lose to the Yankees.
No we would lose nothing the yankeees offered no one arbitration. It doesnt matter what your ranked if your former team doesnt offer you arbitration. Kinda like if anyone signs Ayala we dont get his suplementalary round pick (he is a type B) because we didnt offer him arbitration.
you’re right. forgot he wasn’t offered arbitration.
At this point, I suspect they are counting on Murphy, and think he will come close enough to Abreu (with as-sistance from tatis against some lefties) that it isn’t worth investing another 5+ million in the position.
Abreu certainly isn’t likely to get better at his age, so further deterioration at 35 (that the right age?) is quite likely.
Just curious, but how did his #s trend over the last few years?
Anyway, I could see him playing OK D, and putting up .280/.360/.400 with 15 HRs and 75 RBIs out of the 2 hole, playing most games.
I could also see Murphy/tatis putting up the same numbers combined (probably a higher slugging for Tatis and better OBP for Murphy).
Abreu would certainly be a decent option for LF and the 2 hole (as would Winn), but neither guy is certain to be that much of an upgrade, and for sure it wouldn’t be like adding mannY!
abreu is a #3 hitter, he gets on base, hit for AVG and drive in runs. He is not a #2 hitter.
He isn’t going to be a #3 hitter on the Mets. Gotta be either 2 or 6 .
1Reyes
2………
3DW
4CD
5CB
6……..
I’d bat DW 4th.
Reyes SS
Beltran CF
Abreu LF
Wright 3B
Delgado 1B
Molina C (i know, wishful thinking)
Church RF
Murphy 2B
Of course, flipping Beltran and Abreu is fine too. I’d just like to get as many guys on base as we can for Wright.
Beltran doesn’t swing enough to bat in the 2 hole
Shouldn’t the fact that he takes a lot of pitches make him more suitable to hit in the 2 hole??
.296, .371 last year. That’s a big drop off.
And not that good of a sign for a guy going on 35. Generally at that age, barring injury (like Delgados wrist) when numbers start heading down, they don’t come back up.
And that was hitting 3rd between Jeter and A Rod, right?
Plus, he is much more likely to be a 15 HR at best guy now, with lower slugging%.
RBIs I don’t care about, because that is more a function of where he hist in the lineup (and who’s in front of him).
Again, I don’t think he is a bad player, or will hit like Slappy, I just don’t think he is a .300+ 20+ HR slugger at this point.
No my comment was refering to how the previous poster thought he would go down to .280, .360 from last year’s numbers.
Uh, the PP was me TRS!
.296/.371 –> .280/.360 doesn’t seem like an unreasonable expectation for a guy in his mid 30s.
Stick,
Abreu has never had an avg. lower than .283 in his career. and .369 was the lowest OBP of his career.
Now, you make a good point about his age, but I think that expecting him to post career lows in BOTH of those categories may be a stretch.
i would rather go with the platoon and wait for f-mart in august
Good point. From Omar’s perspective, is it worth to invest another 5+ mil to get slightly better numbers than Murphy/Tatis?
I agree I mean if the Mets singed Abreu that is fine by me. I think he is a solid player and would be a decent player for the Mets.
However if he comes in what about Murphy?
All these fans talk about how great Murphy is going to be but yet if we bring in Bobby where is Murphy going to play? The Mets are betting on Murphy and Tatis combined putting up the same type of numbers as an Abreu. Allot of you think the world of Murphy so who says it won’t happen?
Yeah. I think Murphy is perfectly capable of putting up .280 75 R 15 HR 80 RBIs, which would be kinda what is expected out of Abreu
I liked the Winn idea going back to the trade deadline . . .
Abreu depends on how much money he wants. I think we all agree that $10 mil is too much for him and Mets don’t have $10 mil to spend. IF he’s willing to drop his price to 5-6 mil, I think it’ll be worth it. But it’s hard to imagine other teams not competing at that price.
I think with the fact that he does hit left handed pitching better than most righties would open him to consideration. We can use late game defensive replacements and with Church and Beltran in the other two field they could make up for his short commings. That, of course, would leave Murph without an every day positions but I think this could work as a 4 man OF with Tatis in the better role for him off of the bench. Murph can also spell some in the IF, as he has some experience there. Give Wright, delgado and maybe even Castillo some time off occasionally.
If they get a FT LF, I would rather see Murphy go to AAA and be given a positon to play. Let him get regular ABs and a crash course on defense at 1B (or whereever they see him playing in the future).
Then bring him back when someone gets hurt or needs to be replaced.
The fact taht Murphy’s growth would be retarded to some degree concerns me. I think it is important to consider that you always have to have one eye on the present and one eye on the future. In the event that Big Murph can’t cut it as an everyday/platoon player (I don’t think this is the case), then the Mets would be better served in finding that out sooner rather than later.
is anyone concerned with abreu that he’s just another guy with seemingly good numbers who gets on base and scores a good amount of runs but is kind of soft at the same time and isn’t the kind of big time rbis, right handed bat this lineup really needs? not like we can afford him anyway but he seems to me like another guy who pads the statline but won’t get the key rbi hits this team can’t get.
i’ve got nothing against a guy who gets on base a ton, but this team desperately needs someone to knock those guys in more than anything.
I think there are some concerns with him being clutch. Anyone have time to look up his WRISP line? His 2 out avg? I thinkt there is something to what you are saying. I do, however, see a lot of players who do not SEEM clutch but when you look at the numbers they are about their average raste of hitting. Anyone have the time?
1)sign Manny for a guaranteed contract of $56 million and another $21 million in bonuses.
Back load a portion of this contract this year so we dont take that much of a hit. so lets say:
2009 $15 mill salary and $7 mill in bonuses
2010 $21 miil $7 mill in bonuses
2011 $18 mill $ 7 mill in bonuses.
and then trade delgado to offset that money a little.
I would rather have murphy/tatis platoon at first with manny
Then that same platoon with delgado at first.
2)or if we dont get manny trade murphy, parnell, evans, kunz, schnieder, and castillo for aaron rowand and bengie molina .
that way we get rid of castillo and san fran gets rid of some salary so they can bring in manny instead of the dodgers. ( i think i heard back in the day that san fran wanted to get out of rowands contract?)
This way we would have our extra righty bats in the lineup and a great defensive positioning all around.
OMAR GET ER DONE
WE ARE NOT GETTING MANNY.
and…
That trade you proposed would be absolutely horrible for the Mets, especially since Aaron Rowand isn’t good….
if we are getting a bat, we dont need to trade delgado, jeez the guy hit 38 HR last year.
i would rather have mannys bat in the lineup as opposed to delgados, and i am trying to cut some salary as well. Also next year holiday will be available he will probably want a similar deal like texiera got, and that is way too much money tied up in a left fielder for too long of a time. My first preference this year would have been to get texiera, but that didn’t happen?
Johnny,
I’ve been a big fan of Manny’s also, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that we can do ALOT more IF we were gonna spend that money.
Manny for $25M
OR
Abreu for $9M
O-Hud for $7M
Eat Castillo’s entire $6M
Lefty reliever for $3M
Total – $25M (And only $19M would be NEW money, as Castillo is already on the books)
I’m just sayin’.
kistics i understand what your saying, do u know how much more protection wright and beltran will get if manny is behind them and not to say what better pitches the guy after him will get in the lineup.
i also am one that likes a balanced L/R batting order..
and also i am not spending $25 million more i am trading delgado to lessen the blow. By lowering mannys salary this year are payroll will not be as high (even though we will have to play the luxury tax of i think $3 mil?) next year wagners, schnieders, and castros contracts are up, so it will lessen the blow when we raise mannys salary next year. and next years free agents aren’t really that appetizing to me.. i dont want to pay holiday for 8 years, what i can get from manny for just three years and not $100 mill more tied up to a medicorely challenged left fielder. i know manny stinks on the field, but i believe you only give long term contracts like that to 2 way players.
And he’s only 31 shy of the ‘magic’ 500.
Personally, I’m looking forward to Delgado getting that milestone.
Ugly plan there. You are giving up a lot of prospects for a guy the Giants would love to salary dump (Rowand, a much worse contract than Slappy) and a high paid aging C on a 1 year deal.
And really, what is the marginal production improvement of Manny over Delgado? Not really that much.
Plus you add a ton of payroll.
Just cut it down to Rowand for Slappy and I can live with it!
I have no problem giving up less for both rowand and molina, i just wanted to say more names just for the fact that fans on this site usually offer way to little for other teams players. But imagine how great the batting order and defense would be with these 2 players in our lineup.
reyes
beltran
wright
delgado
rowand
church
molina
cora
that is balanced enough lineup and great defensive outfield and infield, everyone in this lineup has the potential to hit 20 HR’s besides cora.
next year you can trade church and move in martinez in his place..(knock on wood) and if you can keep murphy out of the deal go for it.
Bonuses for 21 mil? and then take on more $$ from SF?
uh….. no.
i proposed two seperate deals one if we get manny and one if we dont? not both
Still. It doesn’t make sense and will not work. Mets are not willing to increase their payroll any more. Both your options go against what Omar is doing right now.
Really don’t want to pay 8-10 million for another lefty hitter who doesn’t field his position.
I’m okay with Tatis/Murphy.
Nady for Church would be a huge upgrade. Church alone wouldn’t do it.
Jay Payton might be a nice righty off the bench
I think you are way overvaluing Nady in that equation.
O’Dawg would have been a nice player to have on this team. Omar made a huge mistake with Slappy and is too stubborn to admit it.
He’s just not that good
So he can go to confessional and admit his mistake. What will that do?
Castillo is not easily moved. You think another team wants him after his 2008 season? And I doubt the Wilpons want to pay him $18m to go home and then spend more money on a new 2B.
Slappy may still have something left anyway.
I’m pretty sure we are all going to have a chance to find out if Slappy has anything left.
I still figure it is about 50/50 he goes down injured anyway, so it may be a moot point about cutting him loose.
For those who think that the Mets biggest problem last season was their “clutch hitting,” here’s Abreu’s numbers:
W/ RISP: .315 .439 .530
Close & Late: .280 .409 .436
RISP 2 out: .303 .463 .494
Man on 3d less than 2 out: .366 .424 .625
(by the way, I do not endorse that belief)
Again, that is just 1 year. You really have to look at a longer period (career, maybe 3 years) to get a bigger picture. DW had huge “clutch” numbers in 2006 for instance, right?
And, I bet the lineup helps too. If you got men on 2nd and 3rd with Abreu up and A Rod on deck, you sure aren’t going to be walking Bobby!
Those are his career numbers. But thanks for the advice.
wasn’t directed at you. just a general comment on the “clutch” concept.
Abreu though to me is at the part of his career where some of his career numbers really don’t apply.
I get what your saying but i have to admit i had seen some yankee games of=ver the summer and Arod in that situation would either srike out or get into a DP
over*
I didn’t know we were talking about A-Rod.
For the Yankkes last season, Abreu was 361 .436 .578 in close and late and .382 .433 .618 w/RISP and 2 out and .296 .372 .450 w/RISP.
So whatever you saw, it wasn’t Abreu.
Is that him for the last 3 years?
Ok so that is not too bad.
not too bad? looks pretty good to me.
OK pretty damn good or at least comparable to his normals stats off the top of my head…
I do not endorse that belief either
I’ll tell you what. If you sit around looking for only right handed batters, you’re going to get nowhere. If you’re of the belief that this team needs to improve it’s hitting drastically (which i’m not), you’ve gotta look at any bats, and abreu would be a solid pickup on a 1 year deal worth less than 10 million.
I don’t think this team is desperate to add another bat, but I would be completely ok with it if they picked abreu up.
Thank you SO much for writing this…the “we need a righty bat” folks drive me nuts.
We need the best available bats, and other than MANNYCOUPONS, it just so happens that Abreu and Dunn, perhaps the best other bats out there, are lefty.
They both blow Nady out of the water in every way imaginable, and if they came here, they would bat 2nd between a RH bat and two SH bats.
So we shouldn’t have a LH batter in the 2 hole because the rotten Schneider makes 3 LH bats in a row in the 6-7-8 spots on the days he plays?
I think this is an example of a player who does not get better in the clutch but just stick around their normal hitting. No that I am a huge fan of Abreu…but if he wants to stay in NY at a discount I think it might be a good move. I think we could develope Murphs in the ML the way Brad Wilkerson did, he got lots of big league at bats playing lots of different positions. I think it could make sense to use Murph in the same way and bring in a better bat in the line-up. Sure I would rather have a monster righty than Abreu…but with who is available he seems like a good chance.
vamos omar,hes almost beggin’ man.
throw him a bone,this guy will be playing angry.he immediately is our 2nd best OFer.
No Brainer! make everybody else fight for the
one other OF spot and ease the expectations
being placed on Murphy.Is the idea here to win a championship or just to “play meaningful games in september”?
Agreed fongul; an average Abreu year in the 2 hole? That’s a lot more baserunners and runs….
And don’t know if you saw it on the other thread, but best wishes and prayers to your Dad.
thank you.alls well.sign abreu( i wouldnt believe i’d be sayin that a few months ago)
and LETS GO METS!
The sad part is I do not think they will even give him a look…why not see if he will take an incentive laden deal…garuntee 6 million witha chance to make 8-10 on incentives…can we scrounge that up…Maybe if we move Castro?
Not Abreu, get Dunn. Sign Dunn for 3 years for 24-27 mill. I’ve recently said that the Mets should get: Manny, Dunn, Perez, Sheets, Hudson and Pudge. But that has all changed. Perez signed with the Mets. Manny won’t happen. Sheets is injured and isn’t woth it anymore. Pudge is good but I think he will sign with the yanks or something. S that leaves me with Dunn and Hudson. There was just a blog that the Mets won;t pursue Hudson so he’s out and probaly going to sign with the dodgers. So that finally leaves me with Dunn. Get him then the Mets are all set.
the Mets can’t afford Dunn even at 1 year 5 mil
1 year for 7-9 mill
why not
They can’t afford not to if they could get him for 5 million. That is a clear steal..I do, however, undertand the budgetary constraints that would close the door on mid season moves though which could put the team at risk unless they moved some salary mid season.
So then they can get Abreu then right?
How do you like this line-up
Reyes
Church/Tatis
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Dunn
Castillo
Schneider/Castro
Santana/Perez/ Pelfrey/Maine
Respond to how you like it or not!
That would be fine. Though Dunn might be a better fit for the 2 spot.
Orlando Hernandez (43) – We learned from Ken Davidoff in November that not only does El Duque want to pitch in ‘09 after missing all of ‘08, he wants to close.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
I had a similar reaction when I read that. I don’t see how he’s in any position to make demands.
I used to tell my brother, who is a yankee fan, that I wanted no part of Abreu. I’ve changed my stance and aould be happy to have him.
100 rbi’s please
my brother is a yankee fan too, he seriously believes i was dropped on my head as a baby
Anyone who can just stay healthy for 150 games would be an upgrade in LF. I mean really between Cedeno, Floyd, and Alou…we have always been looking to “fill ins” to play LF by May.
I don’t really want Abreu on the Mets. I don’t think he will fit right. Maybe on the giants or Dodgers or something like that. If the Mets don’t get Dunn they should just stick with rhe team they have and go on to pring training. I can’t wait!
On another note, I was reading that Sheets is contemplating elbow surgery, good thing OM didn’t jump the gun and sing him, you see sometimes the move that you don’t make are the best, pros to OM on this one.
JUST SAY NO
sooooooo anychance they sign I-Rodriguez then move a package of say Reed and Castro for a Right Handed Outfield power bat?
would make a lot of sense
If the Chi Sox sign Abreau then Dye for Castro, Reed would make sense no?
From a Whitesox point of view they get a solid spare OF for D and a good bat vs Lefties when Pierzynski sits
Plus Castro can DH some if need be
For those that remember, I predicted the Mets would get Santana back in mid 07 when we got Castillo ( his best friend )
I also predicted that Halliday would be on the trading block if the Jays didnt resign Burnett
and now he is on the trading block.
So long as he stays healthy…do not be surprised if we trade for Halliday either this year.
F-Mart……Marte….Niese…Kunz…Parnell…
are all expendable for the Doc..
Imagine a rotation of
Johan
Doc
Pelfrey
Ollie
Maine
yes.
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