Earlier on Thursday evening, CBSSports' Jon Heyman tweeted that the Cleveland Indians were trying hard to find a hitter, likely of the outfielder variety. Shortly thereafter, Heyman tweeted that the Indians may have already found that "hitter":
#indians, #angels on verge of abreu trade
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) March 30, 2012
I put hitter in quotes because Bobby Abreu is hitting all of .087 this spring and appears to be in serious decline. Last year was the 38-year-old's first below 10 home runs and an OPS of .750 since his second season back in 1997.
But the trade makes sense for the Indians. The Angels would have to pay virtually all of his $9 million salary this season and the Indians badly need help in the outfield. Further, a change of scenery could do the vet some good.
Original reports from Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi indicated that the Tribe would be sending Trevor Crowe to the Angels but those reports have been put in doubt by Heyman:
Hearing indians had deal involving crowe but that now appears to be a no-go. Unsure if that could possibly affect abreu deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) March 30, 2012
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