Yankees Should Let Jason Giambi Go and Keep Bobby Abreu

With a look to the past statistically and a look to the future optimistically, there are two sure things for the 2009 Yankees.  Jason Giambi has to go and Bobby Abreu has to stay.

Giambi came to the Yankees after the 2001 season, in which the Yanks had made it back to the World Series for the fifth time in six years.  They had won four of those Series and missed the championship in '01 with a loss in the seventh game to Arizona. 

Giambi was signed by the Yankees, coming off a final season in Oakland in which he hit .342 with 47 homers and 120 RBI.  So there was every reason to believe he was a good replacement for the much loved Tino Martinez and every reason to believe he would help the Yanks gather much more World Series hardware. 

But in Giambi's seven seasons in pinstripes, the Bombers have only made it to one Series, losing to the Marlins in 2003, a season when Jason only hit .250, but did have 41 home runs and 107 RBI.  But the remaining years have been frustrating for everyone associated with the Yankees, from fans to Giambi himself. 

His averages over the seven seasons he has been in New York are as follows:  Average - .254; Home Runs - 30; RBI - 86.  But if you throw out the first year in 2002 when he hit .314 with 41 homer and 120 RBI, his numbers are much worse.

He has been spotty at best on first base, even though the harshest critics must admit he performed better there in 2008 than expected.  But when you consider that he has had two years, 2003 and 2007, when he only appeared in 80 and 83 games respectively, he has been very inconsistent and much less than anyone would expect from the power positions of first base and DH. 

His salary, which looked appropriate when he signed before the '02 season, has not been earned and the Yanks cannot afford to shell out money to Giambi any more when they have such great needs in other areas.

Abreu is exactly the opposite story.  To start with, he is only 34 years old.  He has a number of good years ahead of him and he keeps himself in great shape.  He has a gun in right field and except for his shyness around walls, he is a superior right fielder.

And Abreu has been a model of consistency.  For this analysis, I am going to throw out his first year in Houston when he only appeared in 15 games. But I will include his second season when he was only in 59 game and hit only .250.  For his 12 years, beginning in 1997, he has averaged .302 with 21 homers and 97 RBI.  And during those 12 years, he has averaged 104 runs scored.  If you take only his last 11 years, when he has been a full time player, all his numbers go up dramatically.

Since joining the Yankees, Abreu's stats have been even a little better with an average in two-and-a-half seasons of .303 with 43 homers, 243 RBI, and 260 runs scored. Quite simply, he is a consistent producer.

Admittedly, the Yankees did not get past the first round of the playoffs in Abreu's first two seasons in pinstripes and failed to make the playoffs this year.  But none of that was Bobby's fault.

The Yankees have to resign Abreu, probably to a three or four year deal worth about $12 million per year.  At that, he is a bargain.