I was listening to a sports talk show yesterday on the way home from work. The Cleveland host was talking to some NY reporter about a trade rumor involving Cleveland and the Yanks. Here is the rumor: Indians trade C.C. Sabathia, Franklin Guitierrez and Astrubal Cabrera for Cano, Melky Cabrera, and Phil Hughes. We'll see if there ends up being any truth to it.
I agree with SB. If they didn't trade Melky or Phil for Johan Santana (who IMO is a better pitcher than C.C.) then I don't see them trading for C.C. Plus, C.C.'s a free agent at the end of the year, so why trade for him now when they could keep their players and just sign him (New York can outbid Cleveland).
Hey, I'm just sharing - I never said the trade would happen. I will say that I guarantee that C.C. will not sign in NY this offseason, so do not plan on him being a free agent acquisition. He hates the city and the media pressure. Sabathia is going west, probably to SF, the Dodgers, or Anaheim. But the idea of renting him is nothing that Steinbrenner has not done in the past, so it could happen.
I couldn't imagine that any of the Steinbrenner's would be content to just sit back without trying to improve before the trading deadline. NY was utterly foolish for not pulling the trigger to give up the players you mentioned for Santana, who is one of the best pitchers in MLB. Santana is better than any starting pitcher they have had on their roster in the past 10 years.
I think those "renting" days of the Yankees are over with this new management and with Cashman's new approach which I don't disagree with at all. This season will be a lose. I realize that. But when Hughes, Joba, and possibly Kennedy come around they could finally have a triple-threat in the rotation the likes of the 90's Braves (Smoltz, Maddox, Glavine) or early 2000's A's (Zito, Moulder, Hudson). So I'd rather hang onto those guys and see them develop and help us win for the next decade then get a quick fix to get us through just this season.
As for Santana, only time will tell with this trade but looking back, I'm glad the Yankees didn't trade for him. First there's the money AND prospects issue. Not only would the Yankees have had to trade about 3 or 4 players but they also would have had to make a $120+ 7-year commitment to this guy. Granted the Yankees can afford it but they could also use that money this offseason on other players rather than just sinking into one guy who goes out every 5 days. Also, Santana is no spring chicken. He's 29-years-old right now and by the time his contract expires he'll be 36. I believe his prime is already past and so do others as his velocity has been down since moving to New York. I think Minnesota overworked him and now unfortunately for the Mets, they could have a broken down pitcher (see Pedro Martinez). However, after the Mets historic collapse last season, they HAD to do something and on paper the Santana trade looked great for them and a number of people (including myself) picked them to represent the NL in the World Series. So far it hasn't worked out for them but it is still early and they have plenty of time to turn it around. And one more piece of fact, Phil Hughes is only 21-years of age. He hasn't even begun to reach his potential so I believe the Yankees did right by hanging onto him.
