Nah. He’s trash. You can’t be a full time first baseman in this league with and on base % lower the .300 especially when you can’t even hit 20 home runs. He has been awful this season and right now he is 3 for his last 20.
Nook isn’t arguing that he’s had a good or even acceptable season. He’s explaining the reason that he’s been bad this season is due to factors that are no longer present. We shouldn’t evaluate players based on what they’ve done but instead what they should be expected to do. Abreu has had the worst season of his career but a deeper look shows that a lot of that was due to bad luck and injury, so looking forward to next year and 2025, while it isn’t a certainty, we can reasonably expect him to be a pretty good hitter who justifies his everyday spot at 1B and in the middle of the lineup (but who may still not justify his pay).
You didn't say it was the only valuable skill but it was the 1 reason you gave for him not being good. Then you doubled down by saying he's trash and that a full time 1B in this league can't have an OB% of under .300. Who would you prefer? Yuli who had a lower OB% in 2020 and 2022 than Abreu does now. All I'm saying is that a lower OB% in the bottom half of the order is workable if a guy slugs and/or drives in runs. And even in this down year, Abreu's OPS is .874 w/ RISP and 1.208 w/ 2 outs and RISP.
he still hasn't justified anything. His numbers for september suck. Also, he’s 3 for his last 20. He has a week where he had a 7 rbi game and had a few ground out rbi’s in a couple of others. Now he is quickly doing nothing again. I was not just simply ignoring his recent and very recent performance. He still looks bad up there too. To the eye. He still looks lost at the plate, even more so than Pena does.
Who wants Yuli from 2020 or 2022?? He was terrible both years. of course OB% is not Abreu’s only horrific stat. Why would you imply that I was saying that? One could easily point to his runs scored, or his batting average, or his slugging avg, or his home run totals next to that k/walk ratio and have the same argument. Simply highlighting one bad element of his game shouldn’t ever mean that I don’t see others. Obviously, OB% is one stat, yet it is a pretty important one. His is pathetic. It’s a good stat to highlight.
Because OB% is THE stat you referenced. I'm not disagreeing you that Abreu has been bad. But "trash" is disrespectful and too harsh. I AM saying that some of Abreu's poor performance could be Dusty's fault for misusing him. I am also saying that I have seen enough to not give up on next year yet. As you said, Yuli was bad in 2020 but great in 2021.
Understood. I was simply stating just like Yuli in 2021 Abreu could have a better season I could totally see his slow start being limited to April and May-August being similar to June-July 2023 and then maybe a fade in September. Overall an OPS in the 800 neighborhood.
A ~0.800 OPS when healthy would match up well with preseason predictions for his bat. Though..... ZIPs OPS Projections from the preseason 2023 0.802 2024 0.768 2025 0.742
I agree. A good player can be defined by doing something really well that contributes to the team. Some guys get on base and score runs while others knock them in. Both are just as valuable to a team's success. When you have a team full of guys that can do certain things well then it's harmony in motion... but if you have a team with a handful of guys that can do many things well that doesn't always equate to winning for the same reasons. Abreu has done an excellent job at what he does and that's driving in runs and hitting in the clutch. I'll take that over a guy that hits 25 HRs but strikes out in pressure situations.
I have no problem with Abreu playing, I would just like him to bat behind Diaz and McCormick in the lineup...where he belongs. I fully think his back is the issue year, and I still think it's bothering him. He'll be better next year with rest/health. For this year, he needs to take another week off and get those shots to alleviate his back again before October.
Who said that they would rather have Gurriel? I’m looking through all these posts and I don’t see that anywhere.
For someone who is on a pace for 135 RBIs based on his last 71 games, there are just some bizarre statements being made about this man. Only Yordan can speak to this level of production. Y'all are talking as if we've been transported back to the middle of June.
