3. Bobby Abreu
With Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield out due to injury, general manager Brian Cashman went out and acquired Bobby Abreu for peanuts from the Philadelphia Phillies. What’s better than getting something for cheap? Why getting an excess of production from it, of course.
The Yankees got red-hot following the deal and eventually took the division over the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays while making the playoffs twice with Abreu in pinstripes.
In his two-and-a-half years in the Bronx, Abreu slashed .295/.378/.465 with 43 home runs. Cashman also received Cory Lidle in this deal who did give the Yankees some quality starts before tragically passing away in a plane crash.
