It's obvious what the Yankees get out of this trade. What's less visible to the untrained eye is what the Blue Jays get out of it.

	Raul Mondesi Right Field New York Yankees Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R SB AVG 75 15 45 51 9 .224

But it's simple, actually. For the Blue Jays, this was a deal motivated by one thing:

Money, money, money, money.

Even though they have to pay $6 million of Raul Mondesi's $13 million salary in 2003, the Blue Jays' bottom line is this: It's still $12.5 million they don't have to pay him -- all $5.5 million remaining this year and the $7 million the Yankees will pay him next year.

So what's the significance of that $12.5 million?

It's significant enough that, according to one baseball official, the two club presidents, Paul Godfrey for Toronto and Randy Levine for New York, essentially made the deal. The two general managers, J.P. Ricciardi and Brian Cashman, were basically reduced to consultants.

And it's significant enough that the Yankees didn't even have to give up a premier prospect. Scott Wiggins is a Double-A left-handed reliever who may pitch in the big leagues someday -- but this deal left the Yankees plenty of ammunition if they want to make a bigger trade between now and the July 31 trade deadline.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays can also take that $12.5 million saved and use it to address other needs. Plus, they'll lop another $16.5 million off the payroll when their four other free agents (Darrin Fletcher, Esteban Loaiza, Steve Parris and Felix Heredia) head out the Skydome exits. So that's 29 million bucks to plow into their already-underway reincarnation project.

For the Yankees, this was more a corporate acquisition by Yankees Inc. than it was a classic baseball trade. They're one of the few teams that can take on money this time of year. And they used that clout to the max -- as always.

As an $11 million to 13 million player, Mondesi didn't look too attractive. But to the Yankees, he becomes a $7 million player. (Remember, that's less than Jeffrey Hammonds or Jose Lima make.) And as a $7 million addition, he's a beautiful sight.

The Yankees considered their other alternatives -- Cliff Floyd (if he becomes available), Matt Lawton (if he gets healthy), Randy Winn (if the Devil Rays deal him) and the other two available Blue Jays, Shannon Stewart and Jose Cruz Jr. And this was by far the best option out there right now.

Plus, their obligation to Mondesi ends after next year. And had they traded for Floyd, they would have had to extend him for three to five years. So the Yankees put those Yes Network dollars to work and added Raul Mondesi to their programming lineup. Consult your local listings.

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.