Stark: Yanks Close To Abreu Trade

No, those weren’t Jayson Stark’s exact words.  But he does have a late night trade update indicating that the Yankees and Phillies are hammering out a deal for Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle.

Apparently the two clubs are negotiating which prospects will head to Philly.  The Phillies are said to be targeting shortstop C.J. Henry and starter Steven White.  For some reason Stark says C.J. Wilson in his update, but I believe he meant to say Henry.

C.J. Henry was the Yanks’ first round draft pick in ’05.  He’s the best athlete in the system according to Baseball America.  The 20 year-old has a ways to go with the bat; he’s hitting .237/.326/.350 for low Class A Charleston.

White is a 25 year-old starter who throws in the low 90s.  He’s battled injury issues but conquered Double A this year after his second try.  He’s stumbled a bit in Triple A.

The Yankees are expected to assume Abreu’s entire contract.  I have a feeling that in three years no one will remember which prospects the Phillies got for him, similar to the Mark McGwire trade in 1997.

According to an excellent piece by Baseball Prospectus’s Nate Silver, the Yankees stand to gain about 1.5 wins by acquiring Abreu.  Such an acquisition should increase their chance of making the playoffs by 14%.  And replacing Sidney Ponson with Lidle is definitely a plus.