Yanks to trade for Santana?

For the Yankees sake, let’s hope the answer is no…

Lets make this clear: There are only 5 or so teams that can possibly pull off a trade for Santana. The Yankees are, of course, one of those teams. But just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Ever since Brian Cashman has been around, the Yankees have worked long and hard to rebuild their farm system, and it seems to be paying off. Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy,  and Joba Chamberlin all seem to be pretty good baseball players with long careers ahead of them. Yet, all that work is now in jeopardy because the best pitcher in the Majors, Johan Santana, is now on the market.  And without a doubt, the Twins will have a high asking price. An asking price that may require at least two of the players that I just mentioned. But why the change in philosophy for the Yankees all of the sudden? Why build up your farm system just to mortgage it for one really good pitcher? It all seems to stem from the “emergence” of Hank Steinbrenner from out of his father’s shadow. Ever since Hank has become to vocal leader of the Yankees, Cashman and George have all but disappeared from the public spot light. The more disturbing trend seems to be that Cashman is getting pushed out of important decisions, such as whether to trade for Santana or not. Cashman was really the only voice of reason in the Yankees front office for the last 4 years (who was that guy that didn’t want to let Andy Pettitte go? Oh yeah, Cashman) and emphasized a revamped farm team. While this all may come down to the final power struggle to see who is really at the reins of the Yankees, it also may decide the fate of this team for years. If Hank gains control, it would seem the Yankees would revert to the days of signing washed up stars and then keeping the around for 3 years too long with large contracts. Girardi would more than likely be blamed for a poor front office and be fired 2 years into his managerial tenure. But if Cashman’s opinion is still respected, this franchise could continue to evolve into a successful MODERN day baseball club. One that has a fruitful farm team, good young pitching, and the right mix of young and veteran players. As of right now, things seem to be tipping the way of Hank. Hopefully for Yankees’ fans, they don’t stay that way.