After picking up Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth off the scrap heap and putting them in their bullpen, the Mets are now using the same game plan with their bench, bringing up 40-year-old Bobby Abreu to be the team’s primary pinch hitter.
“We tried to sign him in the offseason and he decided to go to Philadelphia,” general manager Sandy Alderson said Monday before the Mets opened a homestand against the Cardinals with a 2-0 win. “We had an eye on him in spring training. When the Phillies let him go, we jumped on him.”
There wasn’t a ton of competition for the player who didn’t play in 2013 until suiting up for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. He helped resuscitate his career there while playing for Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens.
“He brings experience,” Hudgens said. “He’s going to be a good example for other hitters, which is not tremendously important, but can be important for an older player.”
Abreu’s days as an All-Star outfielder are long gone, but he hit .322 with 10 doubles and three homers in 50 games for Caracas. After a solid spring training, Abreu went 15-for-39 (.395) with four doubles a homer and nine RBIs in 15 games for Triple-A Las Vegas.
With an April 30 opt-out looming, the Mets had to make a move if they wanted to keep Abreu and Friday’s trade of Ike Davis to Pittsburgh opened up a pinch-hitting role. And manager Terry Collins said Abreu would get an occasional start in the outfield, as well as be the designated hitter in American League parks.
“I’m happy to be back in the big leagues,” Abreu said after arriving at Citi Field on Monday.
He spent last season watching video of himself following a 2012 season in which he finished with a career-worst .693 OPS in 100 games with the Dodgers and Angels.
“I worked a lot on my mechanics and approach,” Abreu said.
To make room for Abreu on the roster, Andrew Brown was optioned to Las Vegas. Despite Brown’s right-handed bat, the Mets decided to demote him because they preferred Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ ability to play center with Juan Lagares on the disabled list.
“Obviously, he’s not the Bobby of 10 years ago, but he can still give a good at-bat,” Hudgens said. , who is confident Abreu’s production in Venezuela can translate to the majors.
Hudgens based some of that on a homer Abreu hit off Miami’s young right-hander Henderson Alvarez in Venezuela.
“He took one deep to center field on a 3-1 pitch,” Hudgens said. “Once I saw that, I thought, ‘He’s still got something there.’ He knows how to get the barrel out there if he needs to.”
Hudgens put Abreu in the lineup regularly from the middle of the season through the playoffs. The Mets won’t ask Abreu for that much, they certainly didn’t simply call him up to be a mentor.
Collins said he spoke to Las Vegas manager Wally Backman, who spoke encouragingly about Abreu.
“He says he squared up every ball he swings at,” Collins said. “Bobby certainly brings a quality major league bat that the other manager says, ‘I don’t want him up there.’”