Abreu to Yanks

[Striar]

Comments. Questions. Bridge jumpers?

[pacino]

horrible

just amazingly horrible

[sfphillyfan]

This isn't a done deal right? Still rumor?

[sfphillyfan]

Just saw the news.

I don't know that this is a terrible deal. The Phillies are done and we got 4 minor leaguers out of it. Abreu was never appreciated here anyway.

[reesecal]

i'm completely psyched right now

let the rebuilding begin

[saratoga]

I'm glad that Bobby is gone, but from what I've read they didn't get much except relief from a BAD contract. :puke:

[saratoga]

The Yankees will send the Phillies 20-year-old minor-league shortstop C.J. Henry -- their No. 1 pick in 2005 -- and 27-year-old left-handed reliever Matt Smith. The Phillies will also receive minor-leaguers catcher Jesus Sanchez and right-hander Carlos Monasterios, while the Yankees will take on responsibility for Abreu and Lidle's contracts. Abreu is owed $15 million for 2007 alone.



Abreu could have exercised his no-trade clause and kill the deal, as his agent said recently that any team expecting to acquire Abreu would have to pick up his $16 million option for 2008 in order for a trade to go through.

However, the Yankees wanted Abreu under the expectation that they would only be paying the $22 million owed on his deal through 2007, and told the Phillies to negotiate any deal required to waive the no-trade clause.



A source with knowledge of the deal told ESPN Insider Jerry Crasnick that the Phillies will pay Abreu $1.5 million in exchange for waiving the no-trade clause and accepting the condition that the Yankees will not pick up his option for 2008.


The source also said that Abreu would have accepted a similar deal to the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels.


Not including that payout, the Phillies could save as much as $23 million on Abreu alone.

Abreu was in the Phillies' starting lineup Sunday but was pulled for Shane Victorino 10 minutes before their game with the Florida Marlins. In the fourth inning, he was seen in the Phillies' dugout, still in uniform, hugging teammates.

The deal tentatively called for the Phillies to receive one minor-league player -- Henry -- and another from a list of players. But Stark reported the Phils received two players because they agreed to take Sanchez and Monasterios from the Gulf Coast League.

[ekravitz]

Michael Bourn is being recalled and Mathieson is taking Lidle's spot

[BowieBirdFan]

ESPN.com: Law

Sunday, July 30, 2006
Big heist for the Yankees

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Yankees get a big OBP boost and the best fifth starter they've had all year, and they did it by using money (of which they have a lot) instead of prospects (of which they have few once you exclude Philip Hughes and Jose Tabata). The Phillies, meanwhile, get some salary relief for 2007, but not much else.
Bobby Abreu may or may not have lost his power -- I think it's overblown, as he's still on pace for 40-plus doubles and doesn't look like he's lost bat speed or raw strength -- but he's still one of the best offensive players in the game. He's about to post his eighth straight 100-walk season and has the fifth-best OBP in the game. The Yankees have been running a Bernie Williams/Aaron Guiel platoon out in left, and while Guiel has hit a few homers since he came to the Bronx, he's still a four-A player who has no place on a contending club's roster. Even if Abreu's home run total remains low, he's worth two extra wins to the Yankees if he takes at-bats away from Bernie and Guiel, and more if his home-run power comes back.

Cory Lidle is a finesse right-hander with excellent control who will probably struggle to be a league-average starter in the American League at this point, but he is an enormous improvement over Sidney Ponson, Kris Wilson and Aaron Small -- whom the Yanks have employed as fifth starters this year. Lidle's best pitch is a splitter, but his fastball is a tick below average so he has to have good command to be effective and keep the ball out of the seats. Since the guys he's replacing have been so bad, he's still a one-to-two-win upgrade for the balance of the season, making this one of the biggest impact deals any club will make this month.

The Phillies finally came off their demands for top prospects and instead chose to dump the two contracts, saving $15 million in 2007 by moving Abreu. The only player they acquired with any sort of major-league value right now is lefty specialist Matt Smith, a 27-year-old veteran of the Yankee farm system.

The Phils did acquire some interesting prospects. Shortstop C.J. Henry is best known as the guy the Yankees took in the 2005 draft even though right-handed pitcher Craig Hansen was still available. Henry is a raw five-tool talent and still just 20 years old. His swing is long, but he generates plus power and is a good baserunner with well-above-average speed. He has struggled in the South Atlantic League this year across the board. Though he has the physical tools to stay at short, it remains to be seen how his body develops and whether he outgrows the position. The Phillies also acquired two players from the Yankees' Gulf Coast League affiliate, athletic catcher Jesus Sanchez and hard-throwing right-hander Carlos Monasterios, both of whom are so far away that they're more pre-prospects than prospects.

So the three minor-league players the Phils acquired aren't going to help the big-league club until at least 2009 or 2010, and none is good enough to be the centerpiece for a subsequent deal. As a result, the Phillies haven't done anything to improve their club for
*** From a ESPN Insider Blog ***

[Luzinski's Gut]

On one hand this sucks and on the other I'm glad that it happened.

Abreu has been my favorite ballplayer since he arrived in Philly from Houston via Tampa. His consistency was his most admirable trait - you knew exactly what you were getting.

But he needed to move on, and the Phils need to recreate this team. Hopefully Gillick continues to use the scapel today to gut the rest of this insipid team.

We'll have $30M+ to spend in the offseason now. Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to salary. Sometimes you need to make a bad deal in order to gain flexibility.

[Vote for Kalas]

Good GM's can shed salary and get good prospects...this was a terrible trade for the Phillies; they gave up their two best trade chips for basically no return besides money...and the FA crop next year for C, 3B and pitching is not good so I wonder where they will spend all this precious money...they will also lose salary from Wolf, Lieby, Cormier, Bell et al. Are there other trades that are coming? Are they just going to let the young guys grow together and compete in 2-3 years?

My take is the Phillies are in some financial trouble, the new stadium effect has worn off, the team still has not made the playoffs since 1993 and IMO the days of 95M payroll are over...thus some of that precious money will be put right back in the owners pockets IMO...Gillick has been dissapointing as GM IMO and hopefully the owners will sell the team soon.

[reesecal]

i'm a bit irrational this way but i'm just plain psyched about what this team has going on right now. i love the honest from gillick and don't look now, but a win today puts us a mere 4 games out of the WC with what, 50 to go?

[BIGPHILLY]

I'm very excited that the purge has begun. It had to. Other teams aren't stupid.

We did what we could.

People think that Abreu is Pujols for some reason. The dude is batting .280 with 8 home runs. I mean sheesh. We just got rid of his entire salary.

[stevemc]

It's an awful, god awful trade. They traded their 2 best trading chips for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

With that said - Pat better do some amazing things this off-season to spend that $ or else he'll quickly be run out of town. The fans will be merciless and at his age - he'll say "Why the hell should I put up with this."

Yes - a change has to be made but it's one thing to make a change and have something to show for it rather than this.

I can only hope these Lieber/Cormier to the Rangers for Hank Blalock rumors are true. We'll find out within 6 hours or so.

[Luzinski's Gut]

VFK - yes, it wasn't a great trade but just maybe we've all overblown how good Abreu is? I think it was going to be very difficult to move him because of the salary no matter what. Sometimes you have to take what you can get.

I won't argue that the Phils might be in some financial trouble but I doubt it. Those folks have very deep pockets. They simply could be cutting costs, but again, I have a hard time believing it.

As for the C, 3B and pitching argument, so what? Who says a GM has to spend all that cash in one year to assemble a team? I think Gillick realizes that this organization is in disarray and needs to be overhauled. It's going to take a few years...let's just hope he can stick around to make it happen.

[SwingOnThis]

Horrendous trade. Abreu was villified here and was mis-used (should have been hitting lead-off). It's shit like this that makes me SERIOUSLY consider dumping the Phils and picking another team to root for. The Phils are the Arizona Cardinals/Los Angeles Clippers of MLB.

[saratoga]

While this trade did suck, please remember that the lack of value is not Gillick's fault but Ed Wade's for handing out NTCs like candy.

When Bobby only allows Pat 4 teams, and only one of them is really interested, this is what you get.

[stevemc]

While this trade did suck, please remember that the lack of value is not Gillick's fault but Ed Wade's for handing out NTCs like candy.

When Bobby only allows Pat 4 teams, and only one of them is really interested, this is what you get.

I hear ya toga BUT if an injured Thome gets you two decent prospects and a ML starter when you pay half of his contract - why can't the Phils get at least a top prospect in return by throwing in $? I can't imagine that if "salary dump" wasn't the only object then we probably could have paid half of Bobby's $ and received a minimum wage yet very talented player in return. To get absolutely nothing for Abreu and a "hot" pitcher in Lidle is mind boggling.

[BIGPHILLY]

I am still baffled as to how CJ Henry is horrible and "nothing".

The dude was the #17 overall pick in the 2005 draft and shows a ton of upside.

And saratoga makes the point no one can seem to grasp. WE ONLY HAD 4 TEAMS WE COULD TRADE HIM TO. Do you think Cashman is dumb?

[saratoga]

While this trade did suck, please remember that the lack of value is not Gillick's fault but Ed Wade's for handing out NTCs like candy.

When Bobby only allows Pat 4 teams, and only one of them is really interested, this is what you get.

I hear ya toga BUT if an injured Thome gets you two decent prospects and a ML starter when you pay half of his contract - why can't the Phils get at least a top prospect in return by throwing in $? I can't imagine that if "salary dump" wasn't the only object then we probably could have paid half of Bobby's $ and received a minimum wage yet very talented player in return. To get absolutely nothing for Abreu and a "hot" pitcher in Lidle is mind boggling. It is mind boggling, but Cashman might just be smarter than whomever is running the Whitesox?

[stevemc]

Amazing - we get more for Rheal Cormier than we do for Abreu + Lidle. At least we can fleece the Reds.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2535126

[BIGPHILLY]

GREAT TRADE! :whistle:

[reesecal]

like i said

im psyched as a phils phan right now.

you got 3 kids in the rotation,
you got a kid leading the lead in hits and runs on a 31 game hitting streak,
you got a kid tied for the ml lead in homeruns,

sandoval up, sanches up, bourn up

if only we could find takers for patty and jonnyfats, i'd be on cloud 10

[stevemc]

sandoval up, sanches up, bourn up



I love that Bourn is up and they've added Mathieson to the rotation as well. Keep blowing it up - let Lieber, Burrell, Rowand and alike go.

I know you'll think I'm crazy but I'd just love to see an OF of Dellucci, Bourn, Victorino for the rest of the year at this rate. See which of these guys can stick as an everyday OF'er.

[saratoga]

Keep it going, Pat.

[SwingOnThis]

All we did was free up money for a crappy free agent market.

If you're going to trade productive starting players at the deadline to contenders, you HAVE to get some legit prospects. And by all accounts what they got from the Yankees was slop.

[sfphillyfan]

All we did was free up money for a crappy free agent market.

If you're going to trade productive starting players at the deadline to contenders, you HAVE to get some legit prospects. And by all accounts what they got from the Yankees was slop.

Well, that's yet to be seen. If I remember correctly, everyone thought Abreu wasn't much either. We got him for Kevin Stocker! It wasn't easy to trade Bobby because he only listed 4 teams that he was willing to go to and waive his no trade clause. I think we got about as much as we could and saved a ton of money for the future.

[SwingOnThis]

It wasn't easy to trade Bobby because he only listed 4 teams that he was willing to go to and waive his no trade clause. I think we got about as much as we could and saved a ton of money for the future.

If that is true than just keep Abreu and wait until the offseason to trade him. Or offer to pick up some salary in order to get better prospects. What is all this extra money going to do for the Phillies? What starting pitchers will be available as free agents this offseason? Zito ain't coming here. What else is out there?

What Gillick did was take a valuable commodity and just gave it away.

[bk722]

If that is true than just keep Abreu and wait until the offseason to trade him. Or offer to pick up some salary in order to get better prospects. What is all this extra money going to do for the Phillies? What starting pitchers will be available as free agents this offseason? Zito ain't coming here. What else is out there?

What Gillick did was take a valuable commodity and just gave it away.




But what makes you think they would get more for him in the offseason?

[Vote for Kalas]

VFK - yes, it wasn't a great trade but just maybe we've all overblown how good Abreu is? I think it was going to be very difficult to move him because of the salary no matter what. Sometimes you have to take what you can get.

I won't argue that the Phils might be in some financial trouble but I doubt it. Those folks have very deep pockets. They simply could be cutting costs, but again, I have a hard time believing it.

As for the C, 3B and pitching argument, so what? Who says a GM has to spend all that cash in one year to assemble a team? I think Gillick realizes that this organization is in disarray and needs to be overhauled. It's going to take a few years...let's just hope he can stick around to make it happen.

No we didn't IMO....Abreu is a very good player who is having a down year in power and average, but on track for career highs in BB, RBI and still very good in SB, 2B and RS...

Abreu was hard to trade due to salary and FNTC...but the point is you do NOT need to trade him unless you get a good deal...unless you have to free up salary right now which is what appears to be the reality leading me to conclude the organization is facing some financial issues...

Gillick's job as GM is to increase the production of his team especially with trades...he could have paid some of the salary to get better prospects for example...and why throw in Lidle?? Lidle was our best pitching trade chip and probably could have brought a good player by himself....

Gillick could have kept Abreu, tried to move him in the off-season or simply let him go after next year by not picking up his option and getting 2 draft picks when another team signed him...those picks probably would turn out to be better than the slop we got from the Yanks...

[SwingOnThis]

But what makes you think they would get more for him in the offseason?

Because i don't think it would be possible to get less. They more or less gave him to the Yanks on the agreement that they'd pay his entire salary. The 'prospects' were just to make it all look legit.

[bk722]

But what makes you think they would get more for him in the offseason?

Because i don't think it would be possible to get less. They more or less gave him to the Yanks on the agreement that they'd pay his entire salary. The 'prospects' were just to make it all look legit.




On the other hand if Sheffield and Matsui come back, the Yankees might not be interested at all. I agree about the salary point, the only way they were getting back anything decent is if they paid at least half his salary.