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Bobby Abreu

Bobby Abreu Announces Retirement

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3:06pm: Abreu has officially announced his retirement to reporters, including Mike Puma of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

2:59pm: Outfielder Bobby Abreu, who made a surprising Major League comeback with the Mets this season, is expected to announce his retirement tonight, countryman and former big leaguer Omar Vizquel tweeted last night. Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily news hears the same and adds that the Mets have not spoken to Abreu about a future coaching position (Twitter link).

Bobby Abreu

Abreu, 40, played winter ball last season in hopes of making a comeback to the big leagues, and a strong performance gave him an opportunity to do just that. He inked a minor league deal with one of his former teams, the Phillies, but failed to crack their roster in Spring Training. In search of a minor league deal with a better opportunity to get to the bigs, Abreu signed with the Mets, and his big numbers through 15 games earned him a promotion.

Abreu homered in just his fourth game back in the Majors, but that would prove to be his only big fly of the season. He was at one point designated for assignment and released, but he quickly signed a new minor league deal with the Mets and has since been placed back on the 40-man roster. Despite the lack of pop he showed this year, Abreu has posted a .246/.338/.338 batting line (96 OPS+) that is more than respectable for a 40-year-old coming back from a year-long absence from Major League Baseball.

Somewhat surprisingly, Abreu was named to only two All-Star teams over the course of his 18 seasons in the Majors. While he may not have gotten the recognition he deserved in that sense, Abreu’s excellent offensive reputation is well known. He has a lifetime .291/.395/.475 batting line to go along with 288 homers and an even 400 stolen bases. He authored nine 20-homer seasons, including seven in a row from 1999-2005, and he twice crossed the 30-homer threshold, maxing out at 31 in 2001. Abreu also stole at least 20 bases in 12 consecutive seasons (1999-2011), six of which included 30+ steals and one of which included 40 swipes (2004). Abreu put on an absolute spectacle in the 2005 Home Run Derby, winning the contest with 41 homers overall and belting an incredible 24 in the first round alone.

Fangraphs values Abreu’s career at 58 wins above replacement, while Baseball-Reference is more optimistic, pegging him at 59.9 WAR. Abreu will finish his Major League career with roughly $124MM in earnings, according to B-Ref and will undoubtedly generate some Hall of Fame discussion once he is eligible. Congratulations to Abreu on an outstanding Major League career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Moves: Martinez, McGuiness, Abreu, Rodriguez

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

Earlier updates:

  • The Mets will add outfielder Bobby Abreu to their 40-man roster tomorrow when his contract is officially purchased from Triple-A Las Vegas, reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The move fills the remaining spot on the team’s 40-man roster. This will be the 40-year-old’s second stint with the Mets this year as he was designated for assignment in August after posting a .238/.331/.336 line in 142 plate appearances. Ten days later, he inked a minor league deal to remain with the organization. 
  • The Rangers have announced they have purchased the contract of infielder Guilder Rodriguez from Double-A Frisco. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club placed Yu Darvish on the 60-day disabled list. Rodriguez holds the distinction for playing the most minor league games of any current player (1,095) without MLB experience. The 31-year-old, profiled by Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest, has a slash of .260/.340/.290 in 384 plate appearances for Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock this season while playing all four infield positions, as well as both corner outfield spots.  
  • There are currently five players residing in DFA limbo, per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker: Michael Kohn (Angels), Chris Dwyer and Blake Wood (Royals), and Matt Hague and Darin Mastroianni (Blue Jays).

Mets Re-Sign Bobby Abreu

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The Mets announced (on Twitter) that they have re-signed Bobby Abreu to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 40-year-old veteran has already appeared in 67 games for the Mets this season after signing a minor league contract at the end of March. New York designated him for assignment and released him earlier this month.

Abreu slashed .238/.331/.336 with one homer in 142 plate appearances for the Mets earlier this year. He raked in 45 plate appearances at Triple-A before being promoted to the big league club, hitting .395/.489/.579. Prior to hooking on with the Mets this season, Abreu had inked a minor league deal with the Phillies, a team with which he enjoyed some of his best seasons, but Philadelphia cut him loose late in Spring Training despite a respectable showing.

Minor Moves: Falu, Mills, Abreu, Kalish, Herrmann

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Brewers have outrighted infielder Irving Falu, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. They claimed him last month from the Padres, who had previously claimed him from Milwaukee, so that the Brewers finally got him through to the minors must represent a small victory. The 31-year-old has hit .289/.342/.333 in 230 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville this season.
  • The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Brad Mills and optioned infielder Ryan Goins to Triple-A Buffalo. The Jays outrighted Mills in late July. He’s posted a 1.81 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 at Triple-A this season.
  • The Mets have released outfielder Bobby Abreu, according to MiLB.com. The 40-year-old was designated for assignment last week after hitting .238/.331/.336 in 142 plate appearances in his first big-league action since 2012.
  • The Cubs have outrighted outfielder Ryan Kalish to Triple-A Iowa, per the team’s transactions page. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment Friday after posting a slash of .242/.303/.330 in 100 plate appearances.
  • The Indians have released right-hander Frank Herrmann from their Triple-A affiliate, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The 30-year-old, the longest-tenured player in the Cleveland organization, has struggled in 28 relief outings for Columbus to the tune of a 6.37 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 5.8 BB/9 in 29 2/3 innings. Herrmann hasn’t pitched in a MLB contest since 2012 when he recorded a 2.33 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 over 19 1/3 innings (15 games) for the Indians.
  • The White Sox have released right-hander Shawn Hill from Triple-A Charlotte, according to the International League transactions page. The veteran 33-year-old pitched to a 4.81 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 58 innings for the Knights after being acquired in a minor trade with the Blue Jays back in June. Hill last saw the bigs in 2012 with Toronto, and he has a lifetime 4.69 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 242 Major League innings.
  • Jason Pridie has accepted his outright assignment by the Rockies to Triple-A, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. The 30-year-old outfielder, who was designated for assignment Wednesday, had the option to become a free agent since he had been outrighted previously, but chose to remain at Colorado Springs where he has hit .275/.341/.426 in 378 plate appearances.
  • Cotillo also tweets Andy Marte has accepted his outright assignment with the Diamondbacks rather than electing free agency. Marte, who batted .332/.385/.513 at Triple-A this season, will return to Reno in pursuit of the Pacific Coast League batting title, Cotillo adds. Marte was DFA’ed last week and sent outright to Reno last night, but, like Pridie, had been outrighted in the past and had the option to elect free agency.
  • With the Dodgers and Phillies designating Colt Hynes and Sean O’Sullivan, respectively, for assignment today, a total of six players are now in DFA limbo. As can be seen in MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, in addition to Hynes and O’Sullivan, the following players have yet to have their DFA situation resolved: Chris Young (Mets), Ernesto Frieri (Pirates), Nate Schierholtz (Cubs) and Chone Figgins (Dodgers).

Edward Creech and Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Mets Designate Bobby Abreu For Assignment

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The Mets have designated veteran outfielder Bobby Abreu for assignment, the club announced. Kirk Nieuwenhuis will take spot on the active roster, according to the Mets.

Abreu, 40, has a .238/.331/.336 triple slash through 142 plate appearances on the year, which rates just below league average. After a hot start to the year (.913 OPS in May), Abreu has cooled considerably and seen his playing time dissipate. Though his final production fell just below replacement level, that is no mean feat for a man of Abreu’s age.

It remains to be seen whether Abreu will seek to continue his playing career, but it would not be surprising to see a club add him on a minor league deal to provide some depth. Indeed, he tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link) that he is not yet ready to retire and will keep his options open for the time being.

Quick Hits: Abreu, Thornton, Hicks

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The Mets have announced that they will promote former star outfielder Bobby Abreu from Triple-A Las Vegas tomorrow. Abreu is 40 and hasn't played in the big leagues since 2012, which he spent with the Angels and Dodgers. But he made a good impression in Vegas, hitting .412/.500/.529 in 40 plate appearances there, and the Mets have space for a left-handed bench player after trading Ike Davis to the Pirates. As Newsday's Marc Carig tweets, that means the Mets' active roster will include Abreu, Bartolo Colon, Kyle Farnsworth, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jose Valverde. Here are more notes from around baseball.

  • Zack Thornton, the reliever the Mets acquired (along with a PTBNL) in the Davis trade, made his debut in the Mets organization on Sunday, pitching two innings for Las Vegas against El Paso. Thornton allowed a solo homer to Kyle Blanks, but allowed no other runs while striking out one in two innings. The player to be named is reportedly the "key piece" in the deal.
  • The Twins' decision to claim Sam Fuld could impact Aaron Hicks, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Twins assistant GM Rob Antony says the Twins are considering having Hicks get fewer at-bats against righties. If they do, Fuld, a lefty, is a likely candidate to take Hicks' playing time. Hicks is hitting just .179/.299/.214 in 67 plate appearances so far this season.

NL Notes: Polanco, Bradley, Abreu

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Toolsy Pirates outfield prospect Gregory Polanco ought to be the next top prospect to win a promotion, MLB.com's Jim Callis writes. MLB.com ranked Polanco the No. 13 prospect in baseball heading into the season, and he's done nothing to diminish his reputation since then, hitting .439/.475/.667 in 61 plate appearances so far for Triple-A Indianapolis. "He's done a little bit of everything," says Pirates assistant GM Kyle Stark. "It's been fun to watch. The exciting thing about him is he's extremely driven and has very good feel for making adjustments, so it allows him to keep getting better." Here are more notes from around the National League.

  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, meanwhile, argues for Archie Bradley of the Diamondbacks to be the next top prospect to reach the big leagues. Bradley, who raced through the Class A+ and Double-A levels last season, has a 3.31 ERA with 12 strikeouts and six walks in 16 1/3 innings for Triple-A Reno. Mayo suggests that it's not impossible that Bradley's impact on the Diamondbacks could be similar to Jose Fernandez's impact on the Marlins last year.
  • With Ike Davis heading to the Pirates veteran Bobby Abreu could be making his way back to the big leagues with the Mets, Tim Rohan of the New York Times writes. In March, the Mets signed Abreu to a minor-league deal, suggesting to him that they might promote him to serve as a lefty pinch-hitter once they figured out what they would do with Davis and Lucas Duda. For now, Abreu is hitting .412/.487/.529 in his first 39 plate appearances for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Quick Hits: Rodon, Soriano, Abreu, Brewers

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In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Keith Law blasted the North Carolina State coaching staff's decision to let Carlos Rodon throw 134 pitches in a start on Friday night. Rodon is expected to be one of the top picks in June's amateur draft, yet Law felt the southpaw's promising future was being risked by a coaching staff desperate to reach the NCAA tournament.

Here's some news from around the Majors…

  • If Alfonso Soriano doesn't retire at season's end, he'd like to play through 2016, preferably as a member of the Yankees, ESPN's Buster Olney reports (Insider-only link). If he has a tough season this year, however, Soriano will retire. The veteran outfielder is in last year of his contract and has previously discussed retiring after 2014, as Soriano's health will also factor into his decision.
  • Bobby Abreu is hitting .500 in Triple-A and is "the best hitter Las Vegas has got by far," a talent evaluator tells Mike Puma of the New York Post. Since Abreu can opt out of his minor league deal on April 30, the Mets will have to make a decision soon, and they could free up a roster spot by moving one of Ike Davis or Lucas Duda.
  • The Brewers have a dozen players making the Major League minimum salary (or slightly above), and this influx of cheap, young talent helps the smaller-market club afford the six $10MM+ salaries on the payroll, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.
  • Scheduling and tougher PED testing/penalities are two factors for increased injuries this season, according to the New York Post's Joel Sherman.  Travel during both the regular season and Spring Training has become more arduous at a time when players' bodies might not be recovering as quickly due to a lack of performance enhancers.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy recaps the week's minor league transactions. 

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Mets Notes: Duda, Young, Abreu, Bullpen, Colon

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Chris Young's tenure with the Mets isn't off to an ideal start, as the outfielder has already been placed on the disabled list with a quad injury sustained in the cold weather on Wednesday. Young called the situation a "bad dream" when talking with MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, who also spoke to manager Terry Collins about the $7.25MM man's early DL stint. More on the Amazin's as some teams wrap up their opening series…

  • Manager Terry Collins told reporters earlier today that the Mets will give one first baseman a chance to prove himself beginning tomorrow, and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports that it will be Lucas Duda, not Ike Davis (Twitter links). Duda will be given a "real shot" to prove he can hold the job down, according to Martino.

Earlier Updates

  • Bobby Abreu's minor league deal with the Mets is worth $800K, and he can opt out if not on the Major League roster by April 30, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Abreu signed with the Mets after his release from the Phillies late last month.
  • The Mets' bullpen woes only increased today, as a variety of arms struggled once again in action against the Nationals. The focal point of that general concern, of course, is injured closer Bobby Parnell, who figures to be out for at least six weeks and possibly much longer. As Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes, replacing Parnell is a delicate balancing act. An outside addition is always possible, of course, but the options are limited. And while the team may well look to some young arms to bolster the MLB relief corps before long, it will need to be careful not to stunt the development of the team's key prospects.
  • Martino also examined Bartolo Colon's importance to the Mets, and in doing so revealed that the Mets were the only club to offer Colon a multi-year deal. The Mets knew they needed to overpay after five losing seasons, according to Martino, who adds that Tim Hudson was willing to pitch for the Mets earlier in the offseason prior to signing a two-year, $23MM deal with the Giants.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Mets Sign Bobby Abreu

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The Mets have signed Bobby Abreu to a minor league deal, the club announced. It was reported earlier today that New York was considering the move.

Abreu, 40, will start off in Triple-A Las Vegas, and his path to a MLB role with the Mets is less than clear. After a strong run through the Venezuelan Winter League in which he showed power that had waned in recent big league seasons, Abreu put up a .244/.404/.366 line over the spring with the Phillies. He returned to the open market, however, rather than accepting a minor league slot in the Philadelphia organization.

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