Not really, it makes all the sense in the world. They don't want to pay around $17.5 million for 1 year of Abreu. That's not pocket change for the Yankees anymore.
If Abreu hits the FA market as a type-A, it'll be hard for him to get a multi-year deal around 10-12m a year somewhere else. So he can just stay home in NY (were he likes to play) for another year earning more than $17 million.
As this article explains:
If the Yanks had offered arb to Abreu, then would have another OF logjam. Having to move Damon to his worst position (CF) and Nady to LF. And that strictly means Swisher would have to play 1B.
Now that Abreu is gone, they can aim for targets like Ramirez, Tex and Dunn.