ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new lead on the Bobby Abreu discussions: the Phils have begun pitching Abreu and Jon Lieber as a package deal. Stark says that only the Yankees could consider it, and that the price would actually lessen in this scenario because of all the salary.
Check out the Phils’ salary page at Cot’s Baseball Contracts; they’ve got a host of ugly commitments handcuffing Pat Gillick. Beyond Abreu and Lieber, there are contracts for Pat Burrell, Randy Wolf, Mike Lieberthal, Arthur Rhodes, and Tom Gordon. In my opinion, if you’re going to blow it up, don’t half-ass it – gut this team Marlins-style. Well, not to that extent, but Jimmy Rollins probably is the only high-salary player that should be retained. And only then because the market for shortstops is weak.
