Johan Santana - The Next Yankee?

ESPN.com has reported that the Yankees and Twins are having preliminary discussions about the possibility of an exchange of Johan Santana for Yankee talent.

The Twins are said to be very fond of Robinson Cano who are looking to add depth to their infield, as well as Melky Cabrera who would serve as a replacement for Torii Hunter.

The Yankees surely don’t want to give up either of those young talents who are team and fan favorites, let alone the fact that their combined salaries for last combined was under one million dollars.

Joba Chamberlain, 22, doesn’t seem to be moving anywhere except from the bullpen to the starting rotation.

Chamberlain seems to be off limits showing complete dominance giving up just two runs in 24 innings pitched during the regular season compiling 34 strikeouts along the way mainly using his 95-100 MPH fastball and mid to upper 90’s slider with excellent movement. Chamberlain is said to also have a great off speed pitch as well along with a developing changeup.

Philip Hughes, 21, was and still is considered by many to be the number one prospect in all of baseball. He has been compared to Roger Clemens. Hughes has an above average fastball and curveball.

Hughes showed dominance pitching a no-hitter in Texas before he was removed with a groin pull and eventually placed on the DL. Then Hughes suffered a severe ankle sprain that set him back even more.

Hughes’ return began a little shaky but as time went on he showed more dominance and more of what was seen before his injuries.

Hughes seemed to secure his spot with the Yankees when he ironically replaced Roger Clemens after Clemens could not make it out of the third inning with his hamstring severely bothering him.

Hughes came in and pitched three and two thirds scoreless innings helping prolong the Yankees season – although it was just for one day.

Ian Kennedy, to turn 23 this December, did not get a chance to pitch in the playoffs but in three outings posted a 1-0 record and had a 1.89 ERA.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they will have to part with one of these three pitchers.

In order to get the soon to be 29 year old southpaw and two-time CY Young Award winner, Santana and arguably best pitcher in baseball at the moment as well as a solid ace to head the Yankees, you need to give up considerable talent.

The Yankees are likely to give up Kennedy first as while he pitched extremely well in his short stint in the majors last season, he did not show the utter and complete dominance of Chamberlain and is a year older and does not have the stigma of being the next Roger Clemens attached to him.

The Yankees probably will not be willing to trade Cabrera or Cano; however ESPN.com reported that the Twins are also very interested in young pitching.

Luckily for the Yankees, they have stock-piled their entire farm system with young highly thought of pitching prospects.

On the 25 and 40 man rosters alone the Yankees have starters Steven White and Jeff Marquez, relievers Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras.

Also on the roster are southpaws Sean Henn and Chase Wright, along with righties, Darrell Rasner, Jeff Karstens, Tyler Clippard, and Matt DeSalvo.

Rasner and Karstens especially are very capable of being starters and long relievers out of the pen.

These are just a few of the pitching chips they can use to acquire Santana.

As far as hitting prospects go, the Yankees are a little thin but have some very promising players.

The Yankees have on their 25 man roster are the 27 year old, switch hitter who can play all four infield positions in Wilson Betemit. He can provide some great power especially from the left side of the plate and play descent defense.

The Yankees also have Andy Phillips who the Yankees mainly played at first but can play other infield positions as well, actually coming up as a second baseman. He can also provide some power and has good range with extremely soft hands in the field.

The most often talked about prospects during trade talks however are outfielders Brett Gardner, Austin Jackson, and Jose Tabata. During his few opportunities, Bronson Sardinha has also provided an above average arm as well as the ability to cover a lot of ground.

Other hitting prospects in the Yankees system include first baseman Juan Miranda and first and third baseman Eric Duncan, despite developing slowly is a highly thought of player.

The Yankees also acquired a young short stop in Alberto Gonzalez in the Randy Johnson trade, who is known to be a great defender but who whose bat has yet to follow his glove.

So, when it comes to prospects, especially pitching prospects, the Yankees seem to be the team and can afford to pay Santana $25 million dollars a season.

If the Yankees do acquire Santana, they would arguably now have the best starter in baseball, along with the best hitter in baseball in A-Rod, and possibly the most clutch hitter in Derek Jeter.

Now it is just time for the Yankees and Twins to sit down and figure something out.