First was:
Report: Twins would demand Hughes
NEW YORK -- It's pretty simple, really. If the Yankees want Johan Santana, they'll have to trade Phil Hughes.
Hughes must be the centerpiece of any attempt to acquire Santana from the Twins, according to a report on SI.com on Friday afternoon. The report states that should the Yankees decide to part with Hughes, they would have a "decent chance" to land the Twins ace.
To me, this meant Johan was staying in Minnesota until he hit free agency. The Red Sox don't actually want him and no other team can afford him, so that was the only option unless Bill Smith agreed to a lesser deal.
Then I ran into this:Yankees decide to offer Phil Hughes in package for Johan Santana
After two days of internal discussions among front-office executives, the Yankees swallowed hard Friday and decided to offer Phil Hughes to the Twins as part of the trade package they hope will land them Johan Santana.
"We're going for it," was the way one club source put it.
Based on their talks with Twins GM Bill Smith, the Yankees knew they couldn't make a deal for Santana without including Hughes, their 21-year-old righthander widely regarded as a potential staff ace.
The Yanks had declared Joba Chamberlain off limits, and the Twins told them that Ian Kennedy, the third of their three prized righthanders, wouldn't be enough. According to the club source, there was spirited internal debate in the organization via conference calls about whether to make Hughes available.
Among the prominent people on the calls were GM Brian Cashman in New York, and owner Hank Steinbrenner and superscout Gene Michael in Tampa. Though the club source wouldn't say who needed to be convinced, it is no secret that Cashman has wanted to build the team around young, homegrown players, and saw the three pitchers as the centerpiece.
In any case, the club finally agreed to put Hughes in a package that includes center fielder Melky Cabrera and at least one other lesser pitching prospect still to be negotiated, as of Friday night. And by doing so they believe they are the front-runners to land Santana, the two-time Cy Young winner.
There had been speculation the Red Sox were closing in on a deal on Thursday, but Yankee executives don't believe there was much to the rumors. And sources Friday said the Twins won't consider a deal with the Sox unless they include two of their big three prospects, pitchers Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
The Sox apparently have told the Twins they won't do that, including only Lester among those three as part of a four-player proposal on Thursday.
Likewise, the Twins told the Dodgers they had to have two of their top three young players - James Loney, Clayton Kershaw and Jonathan Broxton. The Dodgers, however, apparently have fallen out of the race because of the cost it will take to sign Santana to a contract extension.
So the Yankees loom as favorites, according to sources, partly because Santana, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, wants to play for them. Former Twins center fielder Torii Hunter, who recently signed with the Angels, has been telling people since last year that Santana would love to play for the Yankees.
If the Twins and Yankees do reach an agreement, the Twins will give the Yankees a window of opportunity to work out a contract extension with the southpaw, which is likely to be $20 million-$25 million a year for six years.
There is still the possibility the Twins will try to push the Yankees to include Kennedy as well as Hughes, but Yankee sources insist they won't go that far.
They believe the Twins want Hughes badly enough to make the deal without Kennedy. A Twins' insider agrees that Smith, the Minnesota GM, believes Hughes is the best pitcher he can acquire for Santana, better than either Lester or Buchholz from the Red Sox.
Hughes went 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA in 13 starts as a rookie, but there is a feeling among baseball people that he never had his best fastball after missing three months with a hamstring pull and then a sprained ankle.
"He was just starting to get that late life back at the end of the season," one AL scout said Friday. "I think the leg injuries had a lingering effect. He was at 91, 92 (mph) after he came back, instead of 94-95.
"It cost him some explosiveness, and I've gotta believe it will come back next season. The impressive thing was that he was able to win anyway. I'd hate to give him up. But for Santana, I'd have to do it."
As of Friday, that was exactly the Yankees' mind-set.
I think I'm going to be sick. Words cannot describe how frustrating this is. What happened to the new team philosophy? To retain all of our amazing young pitching talent? Oh, that's right--it went the same route as "We're never speaking to Arod ever again." I'm sorry, but this new management has done nothing but make bold promises and then go back on them easily. Arod, Mo, and now Phil of the Phranchise Phuture are being affected by it. Wow.
Theo Epstein is laughing right now. He successfully broke up the Yankees Big Three (by removing the #1, mind you!) and doesn't have to worry about them ruining all of his future chances of winning the division and beyond. Great job, Theo. BAD JOB, CASHMAN AND HANK (I mean, come on! Santana said he wouldn't have gone to the Sox anyway!)Since I'm also a Twins fan, you may wonder why I care so much. First off, never forget that the Yanks are and will always be my top team. I'll still get to root for Phil, but god will it be weird seeing him in that situation. And secondly but most importantly, I wanted to see Santana and Hughes stick with their original teams. Johan started in MN (more or less) and should stay there and make that city proud. Phil was born and raised in pinstripes, and it would be awesome to see him, 20 years later, still pitching in them on his way to his umpteenth Cy Young and World Series ring. I really respect players and organizations with loyalties to their roots, and this potential trade is violating that to all hell. I suppose that's what I get for having high expectations.
Well, at least nothing has officially happened yet. Bill Smith could always say he changed his mind?
...Not likely.
