The Philadelphia Phillies signed outfielder Bobby Abreu to a minor league deal today, and according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, he was very close to choosing the Mets. (Why?)
Abreu, 40, did not play in 2013 after hitting .242 with three homers and 24 RBIs in 100 games with the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.
The Mets had expressed interest in Abreu earlier in this offseason, but I find it odd that they still wanted him given the number of Triple-A and Quad-A outfielders we already have on the team.
Rubin explains that he began attracting interest of late due to a strong showing for the Leones del Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League, where Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens was his manager.
The two-time All-Star has 2,437 career hits, 287 homers and 399 stolen bases in 17 seasons with the Phillies, Angels, Astros, Yankees and Dodgers.
In his prime, Abreu was one of the best on-base guys in the game and I bet he could still get on at a decent clip. But defensively, he’d be in a mess of trouble in the vast expanses of Citi Field. It would be a huge mistake to hand Abreu an outfielder’s glove. Let the Phillies have him.
