The Angels have released outfielder/DH Bobby Abreu, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweets.
Abreu didn't play in the Angels' 3-2 loss to the Indians on Friday night (the team's fifth-straight defeat), and he was hitting a paltry .208/.259/.333 on the season. The Angels will owe Abreu the balance of his $9-million salary for 2012.
The other, larger shoe to drop is that outfield prospect Mike Trout, regarded by some as the top prospect in all of baseball, will be recalled to replace Abreu on the active roster. That's not without reason: Trout is hitting .403/.467/.623 for Triple-A Salt Lake with five triples in 20 games. Perhaps the five-tool Trout is just what the Angels need to rouse them out of their slump.
In light of this pair of moves in tandem with the announcement of a new closer, it's clear the Angels aren't taking a passive approach to their ongoing tailspin.
As for Abreu, if this is the end for him, then he leaves the game with a strong Hall-of-Fame case. Among are his merits are 2,389 career hits; a batting line of .293/.397/.480; an OPS+ of 129; 557 doubles (good for 25th all-time); 393 stolen bases; 1,421 walks (good for 24th all-time); and top-100 rankings in on-base percentage, RBI, runs scored, total bases, times on base, extra-base hits, and sac flies. He's but a shell of his former self these days, but on balance Abreu has had one of the more underrated careers in recent memory.
