Yankees Not Offering Abreu Arbitration a Bad Call

This has been an offseason where Bobby Abreu has had to swallow much of his pride. First he came out looking for a three-year, $48 million deal, before setting his expectations a bit lower, looking for a three-year, $30 million deal.

Now it appears he is being forced to settle for a little over $5 million plus incentives for just one year, to play for the Angels, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.

He was one of the biggest victims of the poor economy, and was also hurt by a surplus of corner outfielders in this market. He did get lucky when the Yankees didn’t offer him arbitration, because it would have further scared off teams not willing to give up a first round pick.

But was it really the right move for the team?

Many fans were upset with the Yankees when they didn’t offer him arbitration, but the team didn’t want to risk paying him at or near his 2008 salary of $16 million.

It might have been a smart move, although Jason Varitek declined his arbitration rights, so it’s hard to believe Abreu wouldn’t have done the same thing.

Even if Abreu had accepted arbitration, it isn’t guaranteed that he would have gotten anywhere near $16 million. Hearings haven’t even started yet and the Yankees could have made a good case that $5 million is a fair deal in this market.

Even if they lost the hearing, it is highly unlikely they would have been forced to pay him more than $10 million.

It’s possible they could have dealt Hideki Matsui, and used Abreu as a DH. At this point in their careers, that could have been a smarter choice because Abreu is a better hitter and less of an injury risk.

If they couldn’t do that, they could have just released Abreu in spring training and paid him just a small portion of his salary, as arbitration deals aren’t guaranteed.

Perhaps I’m wrong, and maybe he would have jumped at a chance to earn $16 million. However, it seems unlikely to me because at the time he had to make his choice, he still thought he could get that much over three years.