Update – April 3
Mets GM Sandy Alderson discussed why he signed Bobby Abreu during his press conference on Wednesday, citing that “his approach at the plate made him very attractive to us.”
Alderson said that he could see the 41-year old veteran as a potential fifth-outfielder who could be “a guy off the bench” for the Mets this season.
One reporter asked Alderson if Abreu was being considered for first base (huh?), to which he replied, “No. Bobby Abreu wasn’t signed to be a first baseman for Mets.”
I have no idea how Abreu could be anything other than depth for the outfield in Vegas. If he’s on our 25 man roster at any point this season, it would probably mean that a few things may have gone terribly wrong in our outfield.
Let’s hope that’s not the case.
Original Post – April 1
John Heyman, Baseball Insider for CBS Sports, first reported that the Mets were considering signing Bobby Abreu to a minor league deal and sending him to Triple A Vegas as an insurance for the outfield.
Consider it a done deal as the Mets made the announcement on Monday evening.
Abreu, 40, last played in 2012 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and he signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies during this off-season.
In 17 spring games, he hit .244/.404/.466, before being released released. He’ll give the Mets some insurance in the outfield.
(Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE)
While I question this decision a bit, I can understand how the Mets might want him to serve as an example for their young OFers in balancing OBP and power. I also wouldn´t be surprised to see him up in NY as a pinch hitter sometime this year, especially if Duda or Davis (Duvis? Davda?) gets traded or demoted.
I do feel as well that he will be brought up and put on the Mets bench, but I also think that all that is doing is delaying another players opportunity. They have Puello, den Dekker, even maybe Niuewenhuis that can come up and do the same thing and they are younger. Abreu won’t give you what he did in the past, he is 40 years old and all they did was waste a bench spot for someone else.