Cashman Makes His Move
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by user Thefeed
The Yankees finally got their prize yesterday for a bargain basement price in terms of players and a penthouse tag for their payroll. Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle are hopping on the Metroliner to Penn Station while four Yankee minor leaguers are headed to the Phillie organization in what will likely be the biggest trade of the deadline swapping season.
Brian Cashman was the only GM in position to take on the $20 million plus due Abreu and he was able to get him without surrendering stud prospects Philip Hughes or Jose Tabata nor did he have to move the dependable Scott Proctor despite Phillie GM Pat Gillick's interest in all three players. For that alone, one must tip the cap to Cashman for realizing that Philly would need to make a salary dump in order to move Abreu and got them to toss in Lidle, an major upgrade from the putrid fifth starters that have worn pinstripes this season.
Abreu's acquisition does more than make up for the loss of Gary Sheffield for the stretch run. Abreu's .400 on-base percentage will return the Yankee offense to the fast lane, while his defense and arm are a major upgrade for an iffy defense. Add to that the elimination of any chance for Sheffield's contract extension and, by proxy, his awful attitude and it's a big win for the Bombers. With Hideki Matsui on track for an August return, the Yankees will have to put up with a lot less Bernie Williams and Andy Phillips in their lineup and can allow Melky Cabrera to develop without having to put up with his lack of corner outfield power. Baseball Prospectus projects that Abreu and Lidle will be worth four more wins over the remainder of the season than the players the team had on hand and one look at the standings tells you how significant an upgrade that is.
As for the four players the Yankees gave up, Matt Smith is the only one close to major league ready and as a 27 year-old lefty specialist he's hardly what you would call a prospect. The other three players - C.J. Henry, Jesus Sanchez and Carlos Monasterios - are all 20 or younger and years away from performing at the big league level. Yes, Henry was the first-round pick in 2005 and has prodigious athletic gifts but the list of such players who never amounted to anything is long and indistinguished. By not dealing from their first or second tier of prospects the Yankees remain in position to reap the futures of Hughes and Tabata while using the likes of Eric Duncan, Steven White and T.J. Beam in other deals over the winter.
There's no way to call this deal anything but a big win for the Yankees in their quest for another division title and beyond. For the Phillies, there are pros and cons. On the one hand, they've cleared a ton of space from their payroll and have begun stocking the depths of their farm system for future benefits. The team was overrun with awful contracts when Gillick took over and years of Ed Wade's abuse had stripped the farm system of much strength. Because of free-agent signings, no team had fewer high draft selections than the Phillies have had since the 21st Century began.
On the other hand, Gillick didn't do much to help his organization in the short term. With the number of teams looking for help, it's hard to see the benefit of the Phillies not eating some of Abreu's contract in exchange for better prospects in return. Clearly they weren't going to get the Brandon Woods or Hugheses of the baseball world but they should have ended up with players closer to the big leagues and/or prospects with better projections than that of Henry, the closest thing to a jewel in this stew. It's a weak year for free agents, if that's why Gillick felt the need to stockpile cash, and those same losses of draft picks would come into play negating the idea that you're shoring up the minors. Overall, I'd have to say that it was a poor deal for the Phillies who didn't maximize their return on Abreu.
Date
Mon 07/31/06, 5:30 am EST
