Monday, January 7, 2008

Santana Trade - Comparing the offers

I found a great article by Aaron Gleeman comparing the two packages(Red Sox & Yankees) on the table for Santana.;

Those packages are relatively similar in terms of overall value, so unless other teams get heavily involved the Twins' choice may ultimately come down to picking between Hughes, Ellsbury, or Lester as the deal's centerpiece.

He continues
Toss in immediate success as a big leaguer and that's about as good as it gets for a pitcher who won't turn 22 years old until a couple weeks before the 2008 All-Star game. As I wrote two months ago when discussing Hughes' inclusion in various early Santana rumors, short of cloning Francisco Liriano or convincing the Mariners to part with Felix Hernandez, Hughes represents the best chance the Twins have of replacing Santana with an early-20s pitcher capable of being a true No. 1 starter.....

On to Ellsbury
Ellsbury fills an immediate need for the Twins and looks like a relatively sure thing to become at least a good player, but his ceiling is seemingly along the lines of Lofton or Johnny Damon. Hughes' ceiling is that of a true ace who could literally replace Santana at the top of the rotation in time, but he'd add to what's already an area of strength for the Twins and there's more risk that he'll flop completely whether because of injuries or performance.
So it basically comes down to higher risk higher reward for Hughes or low risk low reward for Ellsbury. Gleeman wraps it up by saying;
..they'd be smart to go after the one player who clearly gives them the best chance to come away from the Santana deal with a superstar. In other words, Phil Hughes.
Exactly my sentiments, the twins need to get an impact player for Santana and Ellsbury projects at best to be a complimentary player, not a superstar. I still believe that Johan will be a Yankee I just hope it happens soon so we can move on with our lives.

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