Yankees May Lead in Santana Sweeps
New York Decides to Include Pitcher Hughes in Twins Deal
The New York Yankees may have wrested first prize away from the Boston Red Sox in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes.
Several media outlets report that the Yankees have decided to offer top shelf pitching prospect Phil Hughes in a package with centerfielder Melky Cabrera and a minor league pitching prospect in return for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. New York reportedly had told the Minnesota Twins that right-handed power pitcher Joba Chamberlain was off-limits in their trade talks, and were likewise balking at offering Hughes in a package to Minnesota.
Up until Friday the Yankees were only dangling righthanded pitcher Ian Kennedy as part of the deal, and were reportedly reluctant to part with Hughes. But now reports on both ESPN.com and in the New York Daily News quote unnamed club sources as saying the New York braintrust have decided to trade Hughes in return for Santana.
"We're going for it," one team source told Daily News reporters John Harper and Bill Madden. The two journalists also wrote that a Twins source said that the team regards Hughes more highly than any of the young pitchers the Sox have to offer.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox apparently refuse to part with righty pitcher Clay Buchholz as well as outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury even though the Twins had previously insisted on the inclusion of one or both in a trade for Santana. Reports emanating from both Boston and Minneapolis Thursday indicated that the Red Sox had offered the Twins a package including lefty hurler Jon Lester, outfielder Coco Crisp, minor league infielder Jed Lowrie and either minor league righty pitcher Justin Masterson or righthander pitcher Michael Bowden.
Now it’s quite possible Boston’s proffered package won’t fly.
Hughes was off to a stellar start during his rookie year with the Yankees until he suffered a hamstring injury, then a sprained ankle. Major League scouts insist he never regained the 94-95 mile-per-hour fastball after he first went on the disabled list. He went 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA in 13 starts as a rookie.
The decision was apparently made after a lengthy conference call between New York general manager Brian Cashman, Yankees vice president Hank Steinbrenner and vice president and senior scout Gene Michaels.
Sean McAdams of the Providence Journal wrote that the Sox have been adamant in refusing to part with Buchholz as well as Ellsbury and may throw in the towel after it appeared they had the inside track in obtaining the services of Santana, who posts a career MLB win-loss record of 93-44. McAdams also said that a deal for Santana might be completed before the start of baseball’s Winter Meetings on Monday.
Any deal would require either New York or Boston to obtain a 72-hour-long window to negotiate an extension with Santana. It’s expected that he’ll warrant a five- or six-year deal at $20-$25 million annually. The 28-year-old Santana has a no-trade clause in his current contract with the Twins, and is slated to earn $13.25 million in 2008.
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles