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Thursday, November 22, 2007

N.Y. Post: OH, HENRY! YANKS SIGN OUTFIELDER (RR)

Now if they could just lockup Shea Morenz…

The Yankees signed C.J. Henry to a minor league deal after their No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft asked for and was granted his release by the Phillies. He was dealt to Philly in 2006 as part of the Bobby Abreu deal.

“He came to us,” scouting head Damon Oppenheimer, the man who drafted the 21-year-old Henry, who batted .184 for Lakewood (Single-A) this past summer. “He told us he wanted to play for us and asked would we want him back? We made sure he wanted to play baseball and we found out the last month of the season he was fitted for contacts and hit .300.”

Henry, who had a basketball offer from Kansas out of high school, was drafted as a shortstop and moved to the outfield.

“He will play the outfield in the [Single A] Florida State League,” said Oppenheimer, who wasn’t sure where in Tampa’s outfield the speedy Henry would play.

Repoz Posted: November 22, 2007 at 09:36 AM | 26 comment(s)
Related News: General, NY Yankees, Prospect Reports

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1. RB in NYC (Now with a Training Schedule!) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 10:42 AM (#2623319)

Chance Henry Ever Becomes an Impact MLBer: >1
Chance That Abreu Trade was Awful, Awful for the Phils: 100

2. Cowboy Popup Posted: November 22, 2007 at 10:48 AM (#2623320)

Chance That Abreu Trade was Awful, Awful for the Phils: 100

Wait a second, weren't there a whole slew of people on this website proclaiming that to be an awful trade for the Yankees this May. Were they all wrong?

3. Darren Posted: November 22, 2007 at 10:55 AM (#2623322)

Sometimes people are wrong. Even you.

Chance Henry Ever Becomes an Impact MLBer: >1

That sounds high to me.

4. Templeusox has reached his genetic threshold Posted: November 22, 2007 at 10:56 AM (#2623323)

This is suspect.

5. JRVJ (formerly Delta Socrates) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 10:59 AM (#2623325)

Is it legal?

6. Sean Forman Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:00 AM (#2623326)

Wow, this looks pretty underhanded by either Henry or the Yankees. I suppose the Phillies should have made him go on the retired list, but if I were the Yankees I'm not sure I wouldn't have called the Phillies first to clear it with them (maybe they did). I had assumed he was just cut by the Phillies, but this makes it sound like he told them one thing and did another.

7. JRVJ (formerly Delta Socrates) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:04 AM (#2623328)

I doubt that Henry ever becomes a quality MLBer, but this seems like a low-risk pick-up by the Yanks.

I have to assume that the Phillies really did not see much there, because teams don't usually cut players that quickly if they see some potential there....

8. Sean Forman Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:07 AM (#2623329)

But it sounds like what happened was that Henry said, "I'm giving up baseball and going to play college basketball". Never did that and went to the Yankees instead.

9. Templeusox has reached his genetic threshold Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:08 AM (#2623330)

I have to assume that the Phillies really did not see much there, because teams don't usually cut players that quickly if they see some potential there....

I thought Henry "retired" at the end of the season in hopes of playing ball again for Kansas.

10. Crispix Attacks Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:16 AM (#2623333)

The last time a player forced his way back to the Yankees by lying and giving ultimatums about going to pursue another sport, it was Drew Henson. Good luck with this, Yanks. Ugh, what an annoying story.

Carlos Monasterios has great control for a 20-year-old guy who throws in the 90s. And the trade seemed to work just in terms of changing the personality of the Phillies by giving the team new leaders, and a year later they had the deepest outfield in the NL once again with Victorino, Bourn and the astute pickup of Werth. Je ne regrette rien.

11. Jolly Old St. Nick (now, with Screen Name history) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:18 AM (#2623335)

we found out the last month of the season he was fitted for contacts and hit .300.”

Ahhhh, seeing the ball is for sissies.

12. JRVJ (formerly Delta Socrates) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:52 AM (#2623349)

If the Phillies gave Henry a release that allowed him to rehitch with any other MLB team, either (a) the Phillies didn't think much of Henry; or, (b) Someone didn't do his job (not quite on the scale of the Yanks not offering Clemens arbitration after the 2003 WS, but at least in the bucket seats of the same ballpark).

13. Darren Posted: November 22, 2007 at 11:52 AM (#2623350)

I'm sure that MLB will get right on the ball and start investigating this.

14. Darren Posted: November 22, 2007 at 12:01 PM (#2623363)

Henry's August/September: .293/.316/.379, 2 BB, 20 K. The contacts didn't help THAT much. JRJV makes a good point, though. Would Henry even need to be released in order to play for Kansas? Couldn't he just retire? Shouldn't the Phillies have just told him to retire?

15. Richard Posted: November 22, 2007 at 12:11 PM (#2623374)

Phil Coorey always hated this trade, from a Red Sox point of view. This will just make him hate it even more.

16. JJ1986 Posted: November 22, 2007 at 12:40 PM (#2623383)

I thought they signed Henry Rodriguez

17. RB in NYC (Now with a Training Schedule!) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 12:40 PM (#2623384)

Carlos Monasterios has great control for a 20-year-old guy who throws in the 90s.

He also had a 4.62 ERA and mediocre K numbers in Low-A.

Perhaps the trade did some good changing the personality of the Phillies. That's a subjective thing. From an objective talent level, it was a bad deal then and a worse one now.

18. APNY Posted: November 22, 2007 at 12:55 PM (#2623391)

Monasterios is a few months from turning 22. And i'm not sure 64 BB+HBP in 156 innings is great control.

Henry actually had a good walk rate before the trade, did the Phils try to change his approach?

240/330/353 for a 19/20 yr old in Low A isn't good, but not completely discouraging. He really fell apart since the trade.

19. St.Philly Posted: November 22, 2007 at 01:28 PM (#2623409)

C.J. did hit .333 in August with a Babip of .472 (51 AB) and no HRs. I guess the contacts gave him the ability to place those ground balls well. He then went 0-7 in Sept with 5 SO.

20. Darren Posted: November 22, 2007 at 01:34 PM (#2623410)

240/330/353 for a 19/20 yr old in Low A isn't good, but not completely discouraging. He really fell apart since the trade.

Yeah, before the trade, I thought he and Jed Lowrie were quite similar. Lowrie's done nothing but hit and get on base since, while Henry's moved to the OF and stopped hitting completely. Even if Lowrie blossomed with the Phils, the Sox still would have been wise to make the deal for Abreu/Lidle.

21. Insert clever/punny handle here (oi!) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 01:36 PM (#2623412)

I thought they signed Henry Rodriguez

I was hoping that was what the headline was about. Oh well...

22. haven Posted: November 22, 2007 at 04:33 PM (#2623486)

Perhaps the trade did some good changing the personality of the Phillies. That's a subjective thing. From an objective talent level, it was a bad deal then and a worse one now.

Did the Yankees take on all of Abreu's salary? I honestly don't remember. If they did then there was also a financial benefit for the Phillies that has to be factored in to the equation.

23. El Hijo del Ron Santo (Alan Keiper) Posted: November 22, 2007 at 04:53 PM (#2623492)

The Yankees took the entire salary, freeing the Phillies to sign Adam Eaton.

God I hate that trade.

24. Edmundo, more Jules than Jim Posted: November 22, 2007 at 05:14 PM (#2623500)

The Yankees took the entire salary, freeing the Phillies to sign Adam Eaton.

Are you sure about that? I thought that the Phils were paying some of Abreu's salary. It may have only been through 2007 though.

25. St.Philly Posted: November 22, 2007 at 06:22 PM (#2623520)

The Yankees took on all the salary, that's why the "prospects" from the Yankees stunk.

And the Phillies used the savings for Eaton and Freddy Garcia.

26. haven Posted: November 22, 2007 at 08:07 PM (#2623540)

And the Phillies used the savings for Eaton and Freddy Garcia.

Didn't work out of course. Probably was fated to not work out. But at least there was a plan in place.

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