The Padres have been in contact with Jose Abreu and his representatives, and San Diego consider Abreu to be “a top priority” this offseason, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). With Josh Bell, Wil Myers, and Brandon Drury all now free agents, the Padres have a vacancy at first base, making Abreu a logical target for the win-now team.
It has already been an active offseason for San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, as the Padres have make early strikes to re-sign both Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez. More work on the pitching staff is still likely to come, yet the Padres could also surely use at least one more bat to bolster a lineup that was generally middle-of-the-pack leaguewide. Getting Fernando Tatis Jr. back from suspension will help in that regard, and his return could push Jake Cronenworth towards first base. However, signing Abreu would reinforce the first base/DH spots and give the Padres more flexibility in deciding how they want to deploy Tatis, Cronenworth, and Ha-Seong Kim in the middle infield or perhaps elsewhere (i.e. Cronenworth at first base, or Tatis in the outfield).
The Padres have passed the luxury tax threshold in each of the last two seasons, and the new contracts for Martinez and Suarez have put the team’s projected 2023 tax number at roughly $229.2MM — just shy of the $233MM threshold. With a lot of winter shopping remaining, Preller could reduce this tax bill with some trades, yet it would certainly appear as though ownership doesn’t mind continued spending in search of the franchise’s first World Series title.
With the payroll in mind, Abreu is a particularly interesting target as a player who couldn’t require too lengthy a financial commitment. Abreu is entering his age-36 season, and while he has continued to be a productive hitter, his age and a power dropoff in 2022 will likely limit him to perhaps two years at most on the open market. MLBTR projects a two-year, $40MM deal for the former AL MVP, which would again put the Padres in tax territory but the club has a lot of money coming off the books after the 2023 season.
As a luxury tax payor, San Diego faces an increased penalty if it signs a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer. To this end, Abreu carries extra value for the Padres since he wasn’t eligible for a QO, having already been issued an offer when he was last a free agent following the 2019 season. Abreu ended up accepting that qualifying offer from the White Sox, and then a few weeks later signed a longer extension keeping him in Chicago through the 2022 campaign.
Ultimately working out as a three-year, $50MM commitment, that deal worked out well for both Abreu and the Sox, as the first baseman continued to hit into his mid-30’s. Highlighted by his MVP showing in the shortened 2020 season, Abreu hit .289/.366/.489 with 64 homers over an even 1600 PA from 2020-22, helping Chicago reach the postseason in two of those years. However, with young slugger Andrew Vaughn now vying for first base time and the Sox being overloaded with players in need of DH time, it appears as though the White Sox won’t be pursuing another deal with Abreu.
It sets the stage for Abreu to move on from the only Major League organization he has ever known. After defecting from Cuba, Abreu signed a six-year, $68MM deal with the White Sox in October 2013, with Chicago outbidding several other teams. One of the other interested teams was the Rangers, when Preller was working in the Texas front office.
Would love to see it let’s make it happen
He wants to stay in Chicago
Like, maybe Wrigley.
cubs to Sox players usually don’t work out because of the hatred of the cubs. The worse one was Ron Santo, who was hated by Sox fans. He let be known he never wanted to play on the Southside so the feeling was mutual.
Hmmm, the last White Sox player i can remember thriving on the Northside was a guy named Sosa…
Sox are not resigning him. SD makes great sense for both of them.
How’s that Hosmer contract sitting with you?
we didn’t make that deal and aren’t paying for it. So why does it matter
It matters because without it we would be below the luxury tax line.
Nice landing spot for him, if it happens.
He will bring instant credibility and leadership to whatever team he signs with. Hate that we’re gonna lose him.
Leadership? White Sox fans have been trying to sell this tripe for some time. That clubhouse led by Aubreu was a leaderless dysfunctional mess for several years.
Based on…?
Supreme how would you know what goes on in any MLB clubhouse?
Based on the toxic pile of vomit way they played, lack of hustle and borderline quitting the last ten games.
You could ask south side the same thing.
Losing? Lackluster play. Articles in the Sun-Times? Same way we all learned about the White Sox dysfunction. It really hasn’t been a closely guarded secret.
Well sometimes it’s easy to see outside of the clubhouse. An example would be Machado who was the clear leader of the Padres. Elvis Andrus was clearly the leader of the lethargic WSox even though he came to the team late in the season.
I Blame Tony LaRussa for killing Yermin Mercedes career, since then baseball hasn’t been the same for the Southside of Chicago
Who’s idea was it to bring that man who’s been drinking booze since 2011 and before out of retirement?
In his defense, was Yermin Mercedes really going to have a career?
Destroyed his career? Yermin literally announced he was retiring, La Russa said “I’ll go talk to him” and then less then 24 hours later Yermin unretired. I’m not a La Russa fan but to blame him for Yermin not working out is ridiculous.
Gotta second this. No evidence the White Sox had a cohesive, top achieving clubhouse at all. Quite the opposite.
In all fairness, what you all are saying how much of a mess the White Sox clubhouse was – and remains, it wasn’t the fault of Jose Abreu. He tried to lead in the proper way!!
That said, it absolutely WAS a mess.
What that shows though, is how strong the ‘fun’ and crazy and indifferent attitudes of people like Eloy, and Moncada and Robert and Grandal have overridden the balance.
Eloy showed enthusiasm in his play. Moncada showed sparks of his 2019 season. He also has been despondent the last couple of years because he can’t get his family out of Cuba (?) and has been by himself. grandal is flat lining.
@avenger
Eloy is extremely immature.in a distracting way.
Dylan and Eloy say hi!
From all things I’ve read and direct quotes from those close to him, he’s one of the best clubhouse leaders around. Your statements are misguided.
if you are the leader of a clubhouse that from all reports was an absolute mess, that might mean that you weren’t a good enough leader to make it better. Not saying he is a bad leader, just not a good enough leader in this case
WTF. I think you mean Tim Anderson? Jose Abreu doesn’t have that reputation
nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/jose-abreus-white-…
Abreu was as consistent and reliable as any professional baseball player during his time with the Sox. Guy fought through injuries, never took a day off, and “led” the team in most offensive statistics and metrics… not sure why a rah rah Jayson Heyward speech is needed to prove his leadership
No offense, but everybody knows that Adam Laroche’s son has been the leader in the Sox clubhouse since 2015. And he’s been doing a damn fine job.
Hilarious. And so timely too. That happened 7-8 years ago. Was cute and mildly humorous the first year or two afterwards…but we can all count on someone bringing it up every time an article is written about the White Sox. Each time it’s more pathetic and unimaginative .
And by the way…the kids name is Drake. Jot it down so the next time you have an inspiration to bring it up you can at least sound as if you’ve done a minute of research.
Your sincere agitation is the most unexpectedly hilarious response I’ve seen to any post on this site. “His name is Drake”. LMFAO!!
Oh God that’s exactly what they said about Hosmer.
It’s still weird for me to accept SDP is a large market team
Hello, Newman;
Yes, as long as large market is considered by population only.
But SD has grown substantially over the past 30 years. And it’s an affluent area. Consider that a comparable house in comparable areas of LA and SD is going to cost quite a bit more in SD.
Add in that LA stole SD’s professional basketball and football teams. So for major professional team sports, the Padres are the only game in town. There’s lots of money chasing that team.
The premium paid for housing in SD is mainly due to lack of inventory. They don’t build much in SD, or CA in general. That is the only reason why a 900 sq ft “home” with no yard costs $900K and up. Nice place to visit, but not worth the headaches to live there.
California doesn’t allow enough new housing to meet demand. Period. Look it up.
Blaming that on the smallest demographic in the country is nonsensical, and kind of evil.
Foreign entities (primarily the CCP) buy property all over California. It’s purpose is not to use the property, but to funnel money through them in order to (clean clothes). Calling something evil doesn’t magically make it untrue.
That said, San Diego is the eighth largest city in the US. Calling it small is funny.
Partially correct. Southern California has some of the best climate / weather in the world. Couple that with the fact you can ski, play golf, hike, bike, and surf all in the same day makes it one of the most unique places to live. It’s called the “Sunshine Tax” for a reason. Nowhere else can you go from the beach, valleys, mountains and desert all within a two hour drive.
Newman-Being real here, every, single MLB club can afford to spend 200m on player payroll, and still be profitable..It just takes good ownership with a willingness to do it (putting the amount of yearly profits aside) to ok it..It’s nice to see that Seidler is willing to do that in SD.
Not to banter.. But in theory, every single club could spend less; and more than likely have pretty similar results.
Spending more means spending more, but not necessarily winning more. As the Rangers proved and the Guardians proved. Idk, if a mlb player has ever left the game because of wages.
With that being said, I believe Siedler wants to win more. And that’s awesome for Padre nation
Hello Newman- Both the Clippers and Chargers are no longer playin SD due to the fact the City of SD and the Chargers ownership could never find a viable solution in building a new Football stadium. The Clippers hated playing in that horrid arena. And left to play in that dump known as the LA Sports Arena. Sterling wanted to be with his LA Pals anyways
Leach – There was nothing viable for the City of San Diego based on what the Spanos Family wanted to pull. The City was actually smart (for once) and could see through their crap. The City knew the Spanos Family had zero intention in staying.
The moment Steve Ballmer paid $2+ billion for the Clippers, the value of the Chargers would automatically double by changing their address to LA. They’re still only the 7th ‘liked’ team in LA behind the Lakers, Rams, Bruins, Trojans, Clippers, and Kings.
We’re a mid-to-small market. Good sized population, but no way to expand on that fan base, as we’re bordered by los angeles to the north, the desert to the east, the Pacific to the west, and Mexico to the south. but a market of this size can support a $250M payroll if the org is well run and successful.
The positive SD is bordered to the North by a area known as Orange County. You might heard of it. Disneyland and Angels exist. There as well the hottest chicks. Great Beaches. Great neighborhoods .
But no night life except maybe in Newport Beach.
San Diego Padres are building a robust fan base south of the border!
Leach – the fact you think “the hottest chicks” live in OC only validates you have no clue what you’re talking about.
Its not. 27th largest TV market. The Padres are the only major sport there. No NFL. No NBA. No MLS. So the corporate sponsorship cash is rolling in and Seidler is spending it all instead of taking a profit.
It should be a major hint about how much profit MLB teams make when a team with $320-330 million in revenue can spend $230 million on 40 man payroll and benefits.
We know that the Braves and Blue Jays both passed the 25% net profit level. They are owned by publicly traded companies so they have to open their books. Can’t tell me other teams that are not spending like the Padres are not raking in just as high of a profit margin or even higher.
True but if people in SD want to go to a NHL game there are 2 within 80 to 100 miles away.
Same with 2 NBA and 2 NFL teams both are in LA.
We have the Duck’s minor league team in SD. Driving up north is horrible no matter the day,
This would be an incredible pick up for this team. I hate this team.
Padres should play Tatis at DH first half of the year, let him focus on regaining his elite bat and power.
C Nola 2B Cron SS Kim 3B Mach RF Soto CF Gris LF Azocar first half and Tatis second half unless Azocar proves a better hitter than Grisham
Rotation Darv Musg Snel Mart FA
Pen Hade Suar More rest
No way azocar is a starter on this team beyond the 20 games tatis will miss. They will add another player in addition to abreu if he is signed.
Reports are they are even interested in the 4 major free agent short stops. Heard preller is in love with turner. When preller is in love who knows what he’ll do. Certainly seems like seidler just says yes to preller on whatever he wants. Which makes it even more interesting
Azocar as a platoon bat is fine until Tatis Jr is back. Then he can platoon with Grisham in CF.
Exactly but they will need to add another player beyond abreu to keep him a platoon bat.
I vote Edwin Rios myself. Seems like a good LH bat you can have in the OF against righties and give guys days off at 3B and 1B and OF. Him and Azocar could probably handle the OF till Tatis is ready then Rios shifts to a super utility LF, RF, 3B, 1B, DH player to give guys days off against righties.
I like the Rios idea! Abreu would be a great pick up up for a 2yr deal and not at some crazy price, which is a pipe dream!
Indeed. Azocar is stretched even as a fourth outfielder. He can run and field, but is entirely punchless at the plate.
….. With all this total speculation, can we throw Judge in the mix?
At no point this offseason has anyone with credibility said that the Padres were in on one of the top 4 shortstops.
Why would Preller want a 30 year old shortstop that wants 10/325+? The Padres have a 5 WAR shortstop in Kim and a shortstop that is even better than the top 4 FA shortstops in Tatis once he is healthy.
Kim has been so good on defense that the team is considering moving Tatis to the OF full time. That says volumes.
So please stop.
Padres are not going to be at the top of the market on anyone because they don’t have to be.
They will go after Senga heavily.
They will sign another mid-rotation starter like Walker or Taillon,
but only if they don’t get Senga.
They will resign either Wil Myers or Brandon Drury.
They will sign Abreu or Mancini to play 1B/DH.
The Padres have been rumored to be interested in Luke Voit and Brian Anderson as a buy low candidate as depth at DH. Two players that were recently non-tendered. But I don’t see that happening unless they miss on both Abreu and Mancini.
Exactly, all these people (a lot of my fellow Padres fans) have been saying to go after Turner. I have to laugh. It’s fun to spend Siedler’s money but he isn’t the monopoly man.
I would love to get Senga, a first baseman, left fielder and some more pitching. We are not going to sign Judge, Turner, Correa, or Verlander and that is fine.
Those are all viable options but you don’t know who they will sign. Preller is also the most unpredictable gm there is. While chances are better then not in my eyes that your “they will sign” players are the most likely. Many other things could happen.
Did he lose his elite bat and power? They aren’t paying him $341m to be a DH.
@Mets6986?? You know he still gets to use that elite bat and power if he’s the DH… right?
Manny-News Flash Tatis has been suspended for the first half of the season.
He’s only out for the first twenty games.
The Positive- You’re right, Tatis come back late April. I thought there a lot more games involved.
He’s due back April 20th
Love it.
Would like them to bring in
LHP Jarlin Garcia
or
LHP Ryan Yarbrough
bring back RHP Miguel Diaz for the pen or Nick Neidert
INFs Edwin Rios as a super utility LH bat + Jason Vosler as a RH bat
or
Dom Smith as LH OF/1B/DH bat + Brian Anderson as RH OF/INF bat
as well.
Indeed. Azocar is stretched even as a fourth outfielder. he can run and field, but is entirely punchless at the plate.
Neidert was non-tendered by the Marlins. He won’t be expensive. He has not been able to stay healthy so not sure he is a fit.
Yeah this feels like one of those perfect fits that gets done.
Padres are going to keep on spending. Is it possible the padres tax number is larger then the dodgers tax number this year?
If the giants actually decide to start really spending. We could be in for an exciting off season in the NL west.
When Andrew Friedman was hired by the Dodgers he spoke about their recent efforts that he’d seen MLB franchises do trying to knock the door down year-after-year. His analogy…..
“It’s like shoveling more and more coal into the engine but the train doesn’t go any faster.”
He’s been true to his word. When the Dodgers hit a wall he backs up a step, lets some guys go, reloads and tries again.
Sometimes it’s just one guy that’s the missing piece. It seems like the Padres think they’ve found that guy every year for the last 3 or 4.
Got a little closer last year. End of the year results I’d take the padres season over the dodgers. I know the regular season wasn’t even close but those 4 games in the playoffs wiped out all of the regular season results. Just like I’d take the phillies last season over the braves and mets.
Sure, like the year before you would have taken Dodgers season over Giants?
I would have rather been a Dodgers fan because their success was clearly going to be more sustainable.
Absolutely
@Samuel
Yep. The padres in 2023 is their best bite at the Apple now though. This team could’ve been set up for a long time with all the young controllable talent they had. But after next season you lose Snell, Darvish, Hader, and potentially Machado. They no longer have any real prospects ready to come up and take those jobs should they leave. They’ll either be tied up with more long term deals or they’re taking an immediate step back,
Signing Abreu at this point probably isn’t a bad call. They’re in an interesting position for 2024 either way.
Orioles2024;
Excellent points.
They very probably have put themselves into a situation where the have to pull out all the stops and “go for it”.
FYI – my read of the Abreu rumor is that if he signs tomorrow it will hardly be their last major move this off-season, and Preller will continue dealing right through the 2023 trade deadline. In situations like this where the FO has the roster strung so tight, I watch for the inevitable injuries and some players unexpectedly having poor seasons……then what does the FO do? Usually they double down trading anything of value to get to the elusive WS.
Right. & the padres aren’t stocked up with assets to deal away anymore. He’s going to deal and deal until their system is as bare as the nationals was. They’ll be left with bad money deals and losing games like WSN.
That’s the future I see. Maybe they’ll win a series next year & it’ll be worth it. But not the way I like to see teams built.
But I will say Preller is great at building a highly rated farm system so he could perhaps build them back up faster. He hasn’t had much success converting those guys into solid major leaguers but other teams have taken his players and done so.
The Padres are a top 3 spending team now, get used to it. And the teams with$ usually win in MLB. Losing top players to free agency only means the Pads retool through free agency. Their best bite at the Apple will be every year, moving forward.
Lol. Yeah cause spending money always equals success as you eat bad money.
Ask Boston how good they were this year paying the lux tax.
14 of past 15 WS winners were top 7 payroll teams, welcome to the reality of modern MLB
If it was possible for Abreu to have debuted at age 24-25, he may have been a boderline HOF candidate.
not even in the conversation for HoF, very good however
Abreu debuted as a pro at 16 in Cuba and by 18 he was FT. In the US its rare that a player would start in the majors prior to 19, so lets go with that age for a MLB debut for Abreu.
That would be 18 seasons in the majors instead of 9 and at the .292 BA, 134 OPS+, and 28 HR pace he has been on since he started playing in the majors would put him at least in the conversation for HOF with a BA close to .300, 2400-2600 hits and 480-520 HR going into his age 36 season.
We don’t know how he would have performed in the majors at age 19-26. In his age 22-25 seasons he averaged over a .400 BA and a 1.300 OPS in Cuba. I don’t care what league you are playing in, that is epic. Not saying he would have hit that well in the majors. It just gives us a jumping off point, especially considering we know what he has done since age 27 here.
What I do not want to see is Justin Turner on the Giants or Padres!
The Glove fits
Username checks out.
I’m just sayin
wish the best for Abreu wherever he ends up
Abreu, Haniger, bring back Drury, and a 4-5 starter, and let’s call it an off-season.
Tatis DH/LF Soto RF Manny 3B Abreu 1B Haniger LF/DH Cronenworth 2B Nola/Campusano C Kim SS Grisham CF would be nasty..especially if Drury’s back moving around the diamond as UT..
While something like that would work. The lineup would be pretty heavy from the right side. In a perfect world they would add a lefty bat. Could look at a guy like Brantley who would be a decent fit instead of haniger.
I’d be down for that..Personally, I think it’s key to bring Drury back if you can. He’s invaluable with his versatility..Especially if you brought in Brantley, who we know will be injured at some point.
If Padres sign all those guys, they can compete. Otherwise it will be a struggle even for the wild card. Abreu will be a good get for any team that signs him. Solid player.
Padres are definitely going to add another 4-5 players. The question is which 4-5 players. I do fully expect them to be quality players. I also fully expect the padres to compete next year.
When your top 3 hitters are tatis, Soto and machado you are off to a pretty good start. When your top 3 pitchers are darvish, snell and mustgrove you are off to a pretty good start.
When your 8/9 pen arms are Suarez and hader you are off to a pretty good spot.
Just need to fill in the back of the rotation. Add a 1b and dh, after that maybe a depth move or two. Pretty easy positions to fill in.
Those players they fill in with will determin if they are the best team on paper or a middle of the pack playoff squad.
Money must grow on trees down there in San Diego……doesn’t Abeau’s. line look a lot like a former first baseman Preller signed to a ridiculous contract only to regret it before the ink dried and couldn’t wait to pawn off on some other snook team…….the Rock Star GM is lucky that management is as clueless as he is as far as building a team….all he can do is spend spend, spend….never happy with the mix, that heralded farm doesn’t seem to provide ML players we guess otherwise why would he continually be looking to acquire every expensive ballplayer he can…..that 4-5 players will pump up the volume on the already $229 Million…..trades….who wants Padres castoffs these days……
Rocky has a serious case of Padre envy
NO not at all….I’m a Yankee fan and know all about spending money or not unlike the Pads it seems.
It’s ridiculous how bad Preller is doling out contracts
So you’re saying that they need ALL of those players just to compete? What players did they have last season when they were beating the dodgers to go to the NLCS?! Cause even just having Tatis back makes this team significantly better than last year
Look they were a high 80s win team last year and the year before and even with Soto they need a 1B, LF, and DH to compete. No team is good enough to compete with 3 holes in the lineup. And the Dodgers will re-load. And the Giants will be better. Both those teams have ample $$$ to sign free agents.
One word. Tatis.
stroh;
Don’t know about the Giants being any competition to the Padres in 2023.
But the WC is now the top non-first place records in each league.
If all the Padres get is a replacement level 1B and DH they will still have the NL’s highest bWAR for position players with Tatis, Machado, Soto, and Kim all being above 5 bWAR and Cronenworth, Grisham, and Nola all being above league average.
Do you really think that is all Preller is going to do?
The pitching staff may be a challenge, but adding Senga and another back of the rotation starter makes them stronger than last season. Even just adding a guy like Walker makes that a very good rotation.
The pen is solid with Hader, Pomeranz, Suarez, Garcia, Hill, Crismatt, Wilson, Castillo, and then Morejon as the swing man.
There is no reason that the Padres should not be in the hunt for the playoffs in 2022 regardless of who they add.
Kim was rated so highly because he was a good SS.
He moves to 2B and he wouldn’t nearly be as valuable per a “WAR” metric. Which is why that stat is flawed alone. The padres simply have too much talent to miss the playoffs next year but beyond next year—it’s a lot dicier.
No it isn’t
Your talking a career .860 OPS .354 OBP .292 AVG that you could probably get for 2yr $45M is a no brainer for the Pads.
If Abreu tops the $19.65 QO that he was not offered by the White Sox as the AAV on a two year deal with a new team it would be huge win for him. I would think something closer to 2/$32-34 million with an option year at $14 million and a $2 million buyout.
The Sox couldn’t tag him because he was tagged in 19. If they could of then they prob would of because you could find a team willing take him on a 1 year for less then 20m deal.
Padres will be a much stronger team in ’23, batting wise. Abreu fits perfectly and could turn into best lineup if so.
Any fan of a baseball team in a city that lost its NFL franchise disgusts me. Oakland, San Diego and especially St. Louis, since they lost two of them, cannot be trusted nor relied upon
Prioritizing schools, parks and libraries over subsidies for billionaires sounds ok even to many avid sports fans.
NFL Stadiums bring revenue, jobs, and tourism allowing the trickle down to go into libraries, parks, and schools.
Yet, there are only 8 home games per year for that (now sometimes 9). When you factor in how much tax dollars go into building the stadium you have to wonder how many years it takes to recoup at 8 times per year?
We must not be counting concerts, conventions, and other random events that take place throughout the year. Not to mention the revenue hosting a Super Bowl brings. That alone would buy a tablet for all the public school gnats and social freeloading programs that cry no fair.
Historically, unless it’s miami, Tampa or Arizona that supebowl thing is either non existent or a one time in the entire history and even that, those cold places aren’t getting too many opportunities anymore.
Even with concerts just start with the many billions of dollars in tax to build and it takes a lot of event to payoff. Not saying it doesn’t work, just it isn’t some I stand money printing machine either.
The economists that studied the downtown stadium for the Chargers said that it would take about 40-45 years in increased tax revenue to pay for a $500 million public investment in that particular stadium. That was a mixed use stadium that would be directly across from the convention center and host events year round.
Unless its going into a blighted area and bringing with it tremendous investment in the surrounding neighborhood like Petco did, its a longer term ROI than the lifespan of most stadiums.
Petco went into the East Village, a ghetto and industrial area that had more strip clubs than restaurants. Today the area is transformed. San Diego will break even from their investment in the park and infrastructure improvements between 2030-2034.
Pads Fan – I think I’m agreeing with your point re: Petco and also agreeing with your point re: Chargers stadium while mostly disagreeing with the spin that Slider seems to suggest thst by just having a football stadium makes financial sense by rule.
Who are the Chargers?
Elaborate please.
Sign Abreu but without the disgusting scrot-beard
Tatis is slated for left, first and short. Abreu would be ag reat add. I’d like to see Drury back. While adding another starter, preferably an innings eater and another arm in the pen. I’ve heard Haniger name mentioned but how much does he have left?
He’s had some freak injuries, and if they got Abreu, Haniger, and re-signed Drury, that would give them lots of depth to be able to cover for injuries/time off/etc while still having plenty of AB’s to go around..
No matter how you look at it baseball is a lot more fun when Tatis is playing.
Getting too long in the tooth. Somebody is going to overpay let it be the Dodgers…
At 2/40, pretty fair odds that you get your money’s worth in 2023 (as good of odds any guy using prior year stats as a guide) and well, if he drops the second year, with his long history, it shouldn’t be too much of an overpay like the last years of the about to signed contract for Judge, Pujols / Angels, etc. because it’s only 1 year.
What are the options? 1 year prove deals for Bellinger, Myers, Rios, Gallo?
Long term deal for Judge or even Bell?
Just fair risk is all.
Are you saying the Pads have no one coming through their system that is ready to help out?
Dogbone- They really don’t..Campusano is their only MLB worthy prospect in the minors aside from Eguy Rosario..who projects as a utility guy..After them, pretty much every other prospect is at least a year out..and for the top guys, more like 2..
Edit-Scratch that..Groome should be up this year, and will compete for the 5th spot in the rotation in ST
Yeah they are in Cleveland, Seattle and Washington.
Twins should sign Josh Bell. Miranda should move back to third, and Arraez should play second or Third and DH every now and then.
José epitomizes leadership by example. My own life experience shows me that this style of leadership only works with self motivated teammates. But that should not detract from how consistently professional, hardworking, dependable and mentoring, he is.
79 is a selfless baseball player and a true family man. His loyalty to team shows in his willingness to work hard everyday for his family and team.
Based on his 2022 numbers, he’ll hit 5 homers in San Diego, tops. Pass.
Luke Voit would be a better deal and seems to be a clubhouse favorite. He hit something like 13 home runs in San Diego and nine with the Nationals last year. They didn’t plan on trading him, they wanted to get rid of Hosmer…
Padres would be a very nice fit. Abreu needs the warm weather. He struggles in the cold Chicago climate first couple months of season and road games within division. Instead of “heating up” around June, it would be interesting to see how much more effective he can be from day 1. Having a penchant for driving in runs, could be a machine with Machado/Soto often on base.
Wil Myers can hit 15 hr and is a lot cheaper
“Leader” of a Cuban resort club.
Abreu is a perfect fit for Cleveland. At this stage it’s best for him to split time at DH and first base. A naylor/abreu platoon is a perfect marriage at 1B/DH. Cleveland desperately needs a professional hitter at the cleanup spot. Antonnetti & Co. should be making Abreu THEIR top priority. Sign this guy to a 2 year deal with an opt out and a 3rd year mutual option. Lots of insurance for Abreu and limited liability for Cleveland because you’re getting one of the finest hitters in the game for a lesser price than a star in his prime. The veteran presence is also a significant addition to this young club house.