As recently as a week ago, the asking price on Bobby Abreu was said to be locked in place, a three-year deal for something in the neighborhood of $16 million a year. But those numbers were based on appraisals made before the motor companies got a bailout, before the Dow Jones Industrial Average shrunk to four digits.
In the past few days, Abreu -- like so many other veteran players -- has come to grips with the reality that the lush multiyear deal simply is not going to be there for him, and the All-Star who hit 20 homers and accumulated an on-base percentage of .371
this past season is said to be willing to take a one-year deal.
It is not what Abreu wants; it is not what Adam Dunn wants or what Jason Varitek wants. It might take a while for proud veteran players with solid track records to fully accept the humbling reality that the big money just is not there for them, for whatever reason they choose to believe.
But once those players settle on the fact that they are taking one-year deals, the market probably will open up for them. A lot more teams will become interested, presumably.
Abreu, on a modest one-year deal, seemingly would be in the price range of the Mets, Braves, Angels, Giants and maybe Red Sox. Dunn might draw interest from the Yankees, a team for which he is perfectly suited, if they could shed the contracts of two of Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher. Abreu, Dunn and Varitek can go someplace and bust it for one year, and if they have strong seasons, they can hope the economic troubles will have less bearing on the market next offseason than they have this winter.
Spending across this market is down significantly, as these updated numbers from ESPN research monster Mark Simon show:
Jon Garland, who turned down arbitration and the chance to get an award that probably would have fallen in the range of $12 million to $14 million for the 2009 season, might be closing in on a deal with the D-backs, writes Steve Gilbert.
And ESPN The Magazine's Matt Meyers has a smart take on Ryan Howard and Adam Dunn, focusing on how this year's market conditions make arbitration a better bet than free agency.
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Buster Olney
