Yankees Willing to Deal Hughes for Santana…

Well, the latest news in the Santana derby is that the Yankees are willing to dangle Hughes in order to get the Minnesota lefty.

From ESPN: A pivotal sticking point in the Yankees' trade talks with Minnesota about Johan Santana is the question of whether New York will include talented right-hander Phil Hughes in their offer.

And, within the internal discussions in New York's front office, the Yankees appeared on the verge Friday night of making an offer to the Twins that included Hughes.

"If they put Hughes in the deal," said one person familiar with the talks, "that could get it done for Minnesota."

Even if the Yankees and Twins build a framework for a Santana deal around Hughes, center fielder Melky Cabrera and another top minor league prospect, this would be only the first step toward completing the trade. Because Santana has a full no-trade clause, the Yankees may have to offer the two-time Cy Young Award winner a record-setting deal of something in the range of $25 million a year for six years.

If I were the Yankees, I'd hold. Hughes is still very young, and has plenty of time to mature into a premier pitcher. Santana, granted is one of the best left handers in baseball; however, he's got a lot of mileage on him and from what I remember, he's had lot of elbow issues in the past few seasons.

For the team that gets him, you have to sign him long term, and what if in the middle of the contract he breaks down, or worse gets hurt? How will you eat the money? How will you justify the trade when you had to give up a lot of prospects for him? What if one of those prospects becomes the next great thing?

Me, if I were the GM - I'd not make a deal. However, it is New York and they'll do anything to get a competitive advantage.