The Yankees are set again in right field. The club picked up the $16 million option on Bobby Abreu yesterday, taking care of one of their needs.
GM Brian Cashman said Abreu was someone they had to have back in the lineup. The lefty is one of the most consistent hitters in the majors.
“It’s great that Bobby will be back next year,” said Cashman, who will head to the GM meetings on Monday, beginning the task of trying to find a third baseman to replace Alex Rodriguez.
“Bobby is very excited,” one of his agents, Chris Leible, said. “He loves playing here in New York and is looking forward to trying to help the Yankees win a championship next year.”
Abreu consistently puts up strong numbers, and that has as much to do with his approach as it does his talent.
“Bobby is the most self-confident person I know,” Leible said, adding that Abreu is looking forward to playing for new manager Joe Girardi.
Abreu, 33, batted .283 this season with 16 home runs, 123 runs, 101 RBIs, 40 doubles and 25 stolen bases.
Abreu is durable and played in 158 games this season. He has played in at least 150 games in each of the last 10 seasons. The 123 runs scored was a career high and was a benefit of batting in front of Rodriguez.
Abreu knows how to work the pitcher, and 90 of his hits came with two strikes. He led the majors in that situation. He was hottest from July 1 until Aug. 22, a stretch in which he knocked in 52 runs over a 46-game span. He batted .354 during that time with 11 home runs.
During the Division Series loss to the Indians, Abreu batted .267 with one home run and two RBIs. Over the course of his career, he is a .303 lifetime hitter in the postseason, a span of 11 games.
In each of the last five years, Abreu has driven in at least 100 runs. In each of the last nine seasons, he has stolen at least 20 bases. Abreu needs four stolen bases to become the 12th player since 1950 to total 400 doubles, 200 home runs and 300 stolen bases for his career.
With the Yankee offense losing so much firepower with Rodriguez gone, the club simply had to bring back Abreu.