Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Rumors were swirling Thursday night that the Cleveland Indians were in serious talks with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim about a trade that would send Bobby Abreu to the Tribe. In exchange for Abreu and a substantial part of his $9 million 2012 salary, the Indians were probably offering former top prospect Trevor Crowe.

The deal has reportedly fallen apart, at least for now. But even if Abreu trade talks don’t heat up again in the next few days, it’s clear that Cleveland was seriously considering bringing him in to be the starting left fielder. So, as it was with Johnny Damon and Vladimir Guerrero, it’s worth asking: Could the Indians use Abreu as their starting left fielder? (more…)

Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

The blogosphere went nuts late Thursday night as rumors surfaced that the Cleveland Indians were in talks to acquire Bobby Abreu from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Jon Heyman reported that the two sides were “on [the] verge of” a deal, and Jon Paul Morosi learned that the Indians were also close to trading Trevor Crowe (though he could not confirm whether Crowe was part of the Abreu deal).

Things cooled down shortly after that; a source told Morosi and Ken Rosenthal that the odds of an Abreu trade happening were “50-50″ as the teams negotiated how much the Angels will contribute to Abreu’s $9 million 2012 salary. Meanwhile, Heyman reported that the Crowe deal had fallen through, though it’s still unclear whether or not he was part of the Abreu trade. (more…)