Phillies: 5 players who moved to the dark side in New York
Bobby Abreu
The Phillies trading away Bobby Abreu would open up opportunities for players like Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth, but imagine if they had him during their championship run and he solidified his career as a Phillie.
Abreu is one of those players who had a great career, but for those on the outside looking in, they can’t pair him with a certain team. He did play for six different teams in 18 years and he had success across multiple teams, but it all started in Philadelphia.
Born in Maracay, Venezuela, Abreu was signed by the Astros out of Aragua, the same city that produced nine-time All-Star Dave Concepcion, three-time All-Star Carlos Guillen, and Wiki Gonzalez, who played seven years in the big leagues.
After parts of two seasons in Houston Abreu was moved twice on November 18, 1997. He was first drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the 6th pick in the 1997 expansion draft. but was subsequently traded by the Devil Rays to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.
That trade would spark a nine-year run of accolades and the rewriting of record books in Philadelphia.
Abreu solidified himself as one of the great outfielders in Phillies history, but is sometimes forgotten because he wasn’t a part of those great Phillies teams. He fell into the purgatory between the 1993 and 2007 playoffs runs and his 1999 season where when he hit .335 or led the league with 50 doubles in 2002, the fanbase either wasn’t paying attention or simply forgot about it because of the magic that came later in the decade.
On July 30, 2006, Abreu was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Cory Lidle to the New York Yankees for C.J. Henry, Jesus Sanchez, Carlos Monasterios and Matt Smith. None of the prospects in the deal would turn out and Matt Smith, the only player to play for the Phillies, walked 11 batters in four innings in 2007 and never pitched in the big leagues again.
Abreu’s journey through baseball took him to the Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers through the 2012 season. In 2013 the only professional baseball he played was in Venezuela. He was out of Major Leauge Baseball before trying for a spot in 2014 with the Phillies in spring training.
After failing to make the team, one of the Phillies all-time great hitters signed with the Mets weeks after his 40th birthday. Abreu would play 78 games for the Mets before officially retiring after the season.
Abreu’s .335 batting average is the best for a Phillies player with at least 600 plate appearances since 1960, and his 47.2 WAR is the seventh best among all Phillies position players.