Yankees, Stay Away From Johan Santana

The New York Yankees are considering a trade for Johan Santana. Just when we thought the Steinbrenner boys were going to be different than their old man, we see this kind of idea floating around again. We thought the days of spending exorbitant sums of money on big name talents were done now that Hank and Hal have begun calling the shots. The youth movement seems to be on the back burner again just as we saw some promise of hope this last season with Cabrera, Cano, Chamberlain, Hughes, and Kennedy coming through in fine fashion.

The Twins are looking for immediate help in the form of pitching and defense so we could expect the Yankees to give up at least one of the pitchers and one of the position players. What the Yankees would get is a guaranteed year of a very recent Cy Young winner with the opportunity to sign him to a very large contract even before the trade goes through. The Twins will probably not take an untested Kennedy so we should be prepared to give up Hughes or Chamberlain. This is not an even trade-off. This is a clear case of mortgaging the future for the chance that Santana will have a No. 1 starter type year and then hoping that Santana will produce over the long term.

Another possible sticking point is that we have no inkling as to whether Santana can withstand the intensity of the New York pressure cooker. History tells us that it takes a special kind of athlete to jump into the fire in New York. Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez, and, yes, Randy Johnson have all responded poorly to the cauldron of Yankee fan and media scrutiny. The Yankees paid very large amounts of money to find that these men could not take the pressure. Santana has given no indication that he has the grit to stand up in that tough market.

If the Yankees resign Petitte, the rotation would consist of Wang, Petitte, Hughes, Mussina, Chamberlain, and Kennedy. The Igawa experiment is probably over so the rotation would be set as above listed. Getting Santana for Hughes or Chamberlain would improve the starting pitching but not by an appreciable amount with the added consideration of the gaping hole at first base. Going a full season without a legitimate first baseman and losing a talent like Hughes or Chamberlain is not worth the risk that Santana will withstand the New York pressure. This does not even consider the possible loss of Cabrera or Cano in a trade.

Getting the big four of Rodriguez, Posada, Rivera, and Petitte back is of huge importance. Why throw all of that great administrative effort away with a trade for Santana? The Yankees have already proven that you can’t buy a World Series title with their past extravagances. There is no need to prove it again with shortsighted trades that purport to benefit only the upcoming season. The Red Sox have shown that signing high-priced, aging talent to long-term contracts (while a great sentimental approach for the fans) does not improve the team over the term of the contract and is not a sound business move. The Yankees did appear to be going in that direction but a Santana trade would be a step back into the 80’s for the organization and that decade we know, was a disaster.