According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, the Yankees will offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu, which is basically the team’s way of saying good bye to the right fielder. Abreu, as Heyman notes, stands to make about $16 million through arbitration but should see three-year offers from at least the Cubs and the Mets. The Yanks don’t seem keen on bringing back Bobby for more than a year or two.
If Abreu leaves, the Yanks will get some draft picks, but the team will also sport an outfield of Xavier Nady, Johnny Damon and some combination of Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera as things stand now. While Opening Day is still a few months out and there are many moves to be made, that outfield doesn’t fill me with much offensive confidence.