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Jose Abreu Rumors: Pirates Not Front Runners
By Tom Smith
Bidding on Cuba defector Jose Abreu is expected to be for a $70 million deal, sources say. White Sox,Astros, Rangers viewed as frontrunners.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 16, 2013
26-year-old Jose Abreu has Major League Baseball teams lined up to pay him in the neighborhood of $70 million dollars. The frontrunners are the Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and in shocking news-the Texas Rangers. Who aren’t the Rangers in on?
Abreu was declared a free agent a few weeks ago and the Pittsburgh Pirates are named as a team with interest among the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets.
The slugger has been talked about at length as being a fit for the Bucs since he hit .382/.535/.735 with 13 bombs in just 42 games for Team Cuba. The 6’2″ 260 pounder also hit three homers in just 25 at-bats during the WBC in March.
None of the front runners have first basemen that are long term solutions. The Pirates might have Alex Dickerson or Andrew Lambo in the future who could play 1B, but each of those players comes with question marks. Abreu could solve a lot of difficulties the Bucs have on offense, but with more teams in the mix with much larger resources, it seems like a pipe dream that Abreu lands with the Buccos.