To me, it seems like the Yankees are out of the running for Santana. Steinbrenner acknowledged it today and he appears to be, yet again, sticking to his guns. Here’s a chunk of textabout the Yankees-Twins talks from NY Times writer, Tyler Kepner.
“I’m very pleased,” Steinbrenner said. “We got Andy Pettitte back and everything I wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the off-season has happened. We got Pettitte, Rodriguez, Posada and Rivera back. We’ve got our young pitchers. I’m very glad we didn’t have to lose Hughes and Cabrera. Everything is copacetic.”
The Yankees were willing to include starter Jeffrey Marquez in the deal after the Twins backed off their demand for starter Ian Kennedy late Monday night. But other prospects, including starter Alan Horne and outfielder Austin Jackson, remained off limits.
General Manager Brian Cashman would not comment on the breakdown of the Santana talks, but he said: “We’ve worked hard to get guys to a certain point where we’re ready to grow with them, and hopefully, we can. It doesn’t mean we’re not going to move them at some point, but at this stage, I’m happy to say that we’re holding onto guys.”
Hughes, 21, went 5-3 in 13 starts last season, and added a victory in the playoffs. This was the first time he had been involved in specific trade rumors.
“It’s been sort of tough the last week not really knowing what’s going on,” Hughes said via e-mail. “Obviously things can still happen, but I’m very happy to still be a Yankee.”
The Twins privately acknowledged that Cashman had not informed them that the Yankees had pulled out. But Steinbrenner is the final authority, and Cashman has never seemed overly enthusiastic about parting with young talent, either.
The comments by Steinbrenner and the subsequent follow up by Cashman appears to indicate a clear direction towards, “opting out” of the Santana talks, altogether. Steinbrenner made some rather bold statements which is the norm for him (A-Rod, etc.), but I don’t think the A-Rod situation was similiar to this, as it was a matter of respect and a variety of other factors.
Also, anybody notice Cashman’s response here? He clearly wasn’t in favor of trading Hughes or any of the other young guys, so you know he’s happy.
The Yankees, as of now, have a somewhat cohesive idea in terms of what they’re doing for 2008, and unless the Twins come to them and request a Phil Hughes-Melky-Marquez deal (I doubt that will happen), I don’t expect “too much” offseason noise. The only way the Yankees have another shot is if the Sox fall out over Santana’s money (once a deal is reached). If the Twins are desperate, they may take a lesser package.
However, The Twins can trade Santana to the Angels or the Dodgers for more than that. The Angels are salient within this situation now that they’re out of the Cabrera hunt. With Garland, Weaver, E.Santana, Lackey, Escobar, Saunders, Adenhardt, they’re probably willing to lose one of these guys (Saunders, Santana, Weaver).
Here’s another interesting bit from the Kepner piece
“Billy Beane doesn’t necessarily have to deal Haren, and he’s going to want a lot,” Steinbrenner said, referring to the A’s general manager. “It’s still going to come down to the same thing, isn’t it?
“Everybody wants pitching back, and I think maybe it comes down to a point like it was during the season, when I said our pitchers were untouchable. Maybe it’s getting back to that point, because that’s what everybody is going to ask for. Maybe we just shut it down and say forget it.”
The Yankees aren’t going to offer anything near the value necessary (by Beane) to get Haren, it seems. This is probably a good thing considering his splits last year. I rag on Hank all the time, but he seems to get it when it comes to young pitching. You cant pluck it off of the nearest tree (there aren’t that many tree in the Bronx, but that’s not what I mean).
Time for the Yankees to show off that inner nurturing parent, because that’s what the team needs in relation to young starters (yes, I wasn’t hugged enough as a child).
