The seemingly inevitable demotion of Bobby Abreu has finally occurred.
For the first couple months of the season, Bobby Abreu looked like a key piece of the Mets' roster. The 40-year-old outfielder was hitting .320/.397/.500 through 67 plate appearance in April and May. He appeared to be the lefty bat off the bench that the Mets needed. Alas, it was not meant to be. Through June and July, Abreu hit .183/.289/.225, and, following today's loss to the Giants, the Mets designated him for assignment.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who hit .246/.328/.509 over two seperate stints with the big league club, will take Abreu's spot on the roster. Not only does Nieuwenhuis provide an upgrade over Abreu's offensive production, but he is far better defensively than the plodding Abreu. Nieuwenhuis will also likely take over the role of backup center fielder from Chris Young, who has been less than stellar when asked to man the position.
The Abreu experiment was low-risk for the Mets, and it actually did work for a brief period of time. With Abreu's productivity waning, though, the experiment has clearly run its course.