Stop me if you have heard this one. The Yankees just traded four minor-leaguers for pricey veterans to try to make a run at the playoffs. When is the madness going to stop?

Just kidding.

So here's the deal, which I am told is official. The Yankees get OF Bobby Abreu and RHP Corey Lidle for SS Carl "C.J" Henry, LHP Matt Smith, C/1B Jesus Sanchez, and RHP Carlos Monasterios.

Henry is a total athlete. Physically, he's drawn comparisons to Vernon Wells, Gary Sheffield, and Alex Rodriguez. He was going to play basketball and baseball at Kansas before the Yankees brought him into the fold. But can he hit? He's sporting a .237/.326/.350 line at Class A Charleston, with 86 strikeouts in 274 at-bats. Now, I'm not going to write off a 20 year old with this level of athleticism, but I'll simply say that there were a substantial number of Yankee prospects that I was more inclined to hold onto. At best, he was the #3 positional prospect at Charleston behind Jose Tabata and Austin Jackson, and at worst, he was edging out Tim Battle for the #5 spot behind Reggie Corona and Marcos Vechionacci.  Henry is a decent young project, but he is so far from being a major league contributor that it was hard to imagine him being the centerpiece of any big deal.

It only gets better from here. Matt Smith is 27, and he was moved to relief this year in AAA Columbus. This is a guy who could be a solid middle reliever for a couple years, but his ceiling is not much higher than mine. Sanchez is 18 and a good athlete, but he is nowhere near fellow teenage backstop Gerardo Rodriguez in terms of hitting ability. Monasterios throws heat. He's 20, and his numbers are pretty good in the GCL, but he is not at a point where he is even projectable yet. He could end up as the best player the Phillies get in the deal, or he could be a guy you never hear from again.

Corey Lidle is a decent innings-eater who will hopefully put up a league-average or better ERA while giving the bullpen a break every fifth day. He is not going to be a star, but for a back end of the rotation guy, he is a solid acquisition, especially compared to Sidney Ponson. Hopefully he doesn't go Esteban Loaiza on us.

Abreu is a star. He has a Giambi-esque knack for working pitchers.  He leads the major leagues with 90 walks and also with 4.47 pitches per plate appearance. He ranks third in the National League in on-base percentage (.427), behind only superhero Albert Pujols and the ever-adorable Nick Johnson. (We miss you, Nicky.) Yes, his power is down, but he is still on pace for a strong total of 40 doubles and 56 extra-base hits. And if the right-field porch in Yankee Stadium helps his power stroke, that bodes even better. Abreu is also an excellent baserunner, having converted 20 of 24 stolen base attempts this year.  And given that he's replacing a platoon featuring the guy who used to play Bernie Williams on "Dynasty," and the guy who Van Damme played in Street Fighter, this is nothing short of a mammoth upgrade.

So I think we can all agree that, from a talent standpoint, the Yankees won this deal by a few touchdowns. But this deal is not just about talent. It is also about money. And money is what Bobby Abreu is making a lot of. The Yankees are on the hook for the rest of the $13,000,000 left on Abreu's deal this year, and he is guaranteed $15,000,000 next year. Given that he has a no-trade clause, it seemed a given that his $16,000,000 option for 2008 would have to be exercised in order for him to waive it. He instead accepted a lump-sum of $1,500,000 from the Phillies. Yes, you read that right. The Phillies paid Abreu to waive a no-trade clause so he could go to the Yankees.  That gives the Bombers financial flexibility at the end of the 2007 season, as they can part ways with Abreu if a better opportunity presents itself.

Lidle is in the last year of his deal, and is making $3,300,000 this year. Here's the thing about the money, though: The Yankees have it in abundance. What they don't have in abundance is minor-league talent. Furthermore, given the economics of MLB right now, the talent hitting the free agent market is not at the same level it was five years ago. Young studs like Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, and Ben Sheets are signing long-term deals with their teams using the money they get from the Yankees -- thanks to Comrade Bud's revenue sharing rules. So instead, the Yankees used their monetary advantage to catch a gorgeous salary dump.

Overall, I give Ca$hmoney a grade of A for this deal, largely because of the way he held up Pat Gillick and refused to give in to his demands for superior prospects like Tabata and uber-pitcher Philip "Jesus H. Christ" Hughes, or even the second-tier of prospects like Eric Duncan, Tyler Clippard, or J.B. Cox. Nice job, Brian.

See you in October.