Abreu
Okay, today Bobby got traded. Here's the deal. (Oh yea, sort of a pun)
To Yankees:
RF Bobby Abreu
SP Cory Lidle
To Phillies:
SS CJ Henry
RP Matt Smith
SP/RP Carlos Monasterios
C Jesus Sanchez
I honestly don't know what the hell Gillick was thinking. The Phillies should've been able to trade Bobby for some prospects reasonably close to the major league level. Other than Matt Smith, none of these guys are within 2 years of the Majors, and I don't know if any of them are going to be any good even if they get there. The Phillies should've been able to get a quality starting pitcher prospect for Bobby, plus maybe a couple of lower tier prospects. Now, the Yankees weren't willing to give up Philip Hughes, but I think the Phillies would've been better off with a trade like this.
To Yankees:
RF Bobby Abreu
To Phillies:
SP Steven White
RP Matt Smith
C Jesus Sanchez
White is a guy who's supposed to be solid in the future, and as a starting pitcher relatively close to the Majors, he would've been a good choice. Smith and Sanchez aren't necessarily huge prospects, so that shouldn't be too big of a concern for the Yankees, especially when they're getting a guy like Bobby Abreu. Now, in my opinion, this deal makes sense for the Phillies. They get a starting pitcher who is close to ready, a reliever who is, and a catcher who might turn out. Considering Bobby is a top player, I think this is a pretty good deal for the Yankees. Oh, and it frees up cap space for the Phillies. But, of course, I'm not the General Manager, so it's not up to me.
Now, the actual trade.
What I think about what the Phillies got:
Henry has a good chance to turn out to be pretty good, but right now he's in Class A, so he won't be called up to the Majors next year, and it's highly doubtful the year after that he will be. And even when he comes up, it's not like there's a space for him. I don't see Jimmy going anywhere anytime soon, so I don't know what they'll do then. Matt Smith is the other reasonably good player in this, and he'll probably be a solid relief pitcher. So that's relatively decent. The other two guys don't look like they'll ever amount to much. So they basically got a solid reliever and a project in this deal.
What I think about what the Phillies gave up:
Bobby sort of had to go, his salary was a problem. Lidle, however, did not. The Phillies, believe it or not, are actually still in the playoff chance here, but now that they've gotten rid of their second best starting pitcher, I think it's pretty much hopeless. I just don't understand why they had to include another solid player in this deal, when it seems like Abreu would've been more than enough. So they basically gave in way too early for this year.
I'm pissed about this deal for two reasons. First of all, the Phillies had an opportunity to make this a great trade, and they failed. They cleared some space for some free agent signings, which is good, but they could've gotten some good prospects to help them out next year at the same time. Instead, they got a bunch of guys who aren't going to be able to help them out in a few years, if they ever can. Secondly, they ended any hopes of winning the wild card with this trade. Their pitching is even worse than before, and they've also knocked one of their two clutch hitters out of the lineup. They had at least a slight chance with Wolf coming back, but now that they got rid of Lidle, I don't see it happening.
To end on a couple good notes, Wolf pitched reasonably well today in his first start in over a year, and the Phillies swept a doubleheader against the Marlins. But best of all, Franklin got designated for assignment. It's great that we're finally getting rid of that moron. Not only does he suck, he's a jerk too. Oh, and the Phillies also unloaded David Bell for a worthless prospect, but I'm kinda indifferent about that.
To Yankees:
RF Bobby Abreu
SP Cory Lidle
To Phillies:
SS CJ Henry
RP Matt Smith
SP/RP Carlos Monasterios
C Jesus Sanchez
I honestly don't know what the hell Gillick was thinking. The Phillies should've been able to trade Bobby for some prospects reasonably close to the major league level. Other than Matt Smith, none of these guys are within 2 years of the Majors, and I don't know if any of them are going to be any good even if they get there. The Phillies should've been able to get a quality starting pitcher prospect for Bobby, plus maybe a couple of lower tier prospects. Now, the Yankees weren't willing to give up Philip Hughes, but I think the Phillies would've been better off with a trade like this.
To Yankees:
RF Bobby Abreu
To Phillies:
SP Steven White
RP Matt Smith
C Jesus Sanchez
White is a guy who's supposed to be solid in the future, and as a starting pitcher relatively close to the Majors, he would've been a good choice. Smith and Sanchez aren't necessarily huge prospects, so that shouldn't be too big of a concern for the Yankees, especially when they're getting a guy like Bobby Abreu. Now, in my opinion, this deal makes sense for the Phillies. They get a starting pitcher who is close to ready, a reliever who is, and a catcher who might turn out. Considering Bobby is a top player, I think this is a pretty good deal for the Yankees. Oh, and it frees up cap space for the Phillies. But, of course, I'm not the General Manager, so it's not up to me.
Now, the actual trade.
What I think about what the Phillies got:
Henry has a good chance to turn out to be pretty good, but right now he's in Class A, so he won't be called up to the Majors next year, and it's highly doubtful the year after that he will be. And even when he comes up, it's not like there's a space for him. I don't see Jimmy going anywhere anytime soon, so I don't know what they'll do then. Matt Smith is the other reasonably good player in this, and he'll probably be a solid relief pitcher. So that's relatively decent. The other two guys don't look like they'll ever amount to much. So they basically got a solid reliever and a project in this deal.
What I think about what the Phillies gave up:
Bobby sort of had to go, his salary was a problem. Lidle, however, did not. The Phillies, believe it or not, are actually still in the playoff chance here, but now that they've gotten rid of their second best starting pitcher, I think it's pretty much hopeless. I just don't understand why they had to include another solid player in this deal, when it seems like Abreu would've been more than enough. So they basically gave in way too early for this year.
I'm pissed about this deal for two reasons. First of all, the Phillies had an opportunity to make this a great trade, and they failed. They cleared some space for some free agent signings, which is good, but they could've gotten some good prospects to help them out next year at the same time. Instead, they got a bunch of guys who aren't going to be able to help them out in a few years, if they ever can. Secondly, they ended any hopes of winning the wild card with this trade. Their pitching is even worse than before, and they've also knocked one of their two clutch hitters out of the lineup. They had at least a slight chance with Wolf coming back, but now that they got rid of Lidle, I don't see it happening.
To end on a couple good notes, Wolf pitched reasonably well today in his first start in over a year, and the Phillies swept a doubleheader against the Marlins. But best of all, Franklin got designated for assignment. It's great that we're finally getting rid of that moron. Not only does he suck, he's a jerk too. Oh, and the Phillies also unloaded David Bell for a worthless prospect, but I'm kinda indifferent about that.