Wolf and Santana! Needs and Mistakes!

Randy Wolf reached a one year deal with the Padres this weekend. This deal is believed to be a heavily incentive based deal. Wolf also received interest from the Phillies and Astros with the Phillies being Wolf's biggest suitor. Yet, Wolf opted to stay on the West Coast to stay with his family. What I don't understand is why the Dodgers did not try to sign Randy Wolf. Granted that the Dodgers signed him last year and he ended up injured, but Wolf could be the biggest bargain of the off season. As every Dodger fan saw last year, when Wolf is healthy, he has lights out stuff. He definitely still has a above average curve-ball and a good fast ball. Furthermore, Wolf posted a 8.24 k/9 ratio last year. That fact shows that he is still fooling batters and is able to get out of jams. The fact that Wolf opted to stay close to his family shows the relative willingness for him to resign with the Dodgers as his family lives in Los Angeles. This is one gamble that I would have liked to see Ned take and I'm rather disappointed that Ned did even try to resign Wolf. The fact of the matter is that our current rotation consists of Penny, Lowe, Billingsley, Schmidt, and Loaiza with both Schmidt and Loaiza coming off a season filled with injures. Essentially, the Dodgers only have three reliable starters going into next year with temporary stop gaps in Houlton, Erickson and Kuo. Honestly, I really don't see the risk in signing Wolf. LA is not a small market city so the Dodgers can definitely afford to take a gamble. In addition, if Wolf remains healthy, then he would become a great bargain. For these reasons, I feel the Dodgers definitely missed out on an opportunity to upgrade their team.

In regards to the Santana situation, it looks like the Yankees and Red Sox are having a bidding war. Now that the Red Sox are willing to part with center field prodigy Ellsbury, I find the situation to be extremely interesting. Now, the Twins get to choose a deal between a center piece of Ellsbury or Hughes. Personally, I see the Twins to take Ellsbury over Hughes because the Twins are loaded with pitching prospects but they need hitters in their lineup, especially with the departure of Hunter. Yet, the rest of the package between the two clubs falls in the Yankees favor. By including Hughes and Melky Cabrera, the Yankees are putting out two bona fide blue chip prospects out there. Furthermore, the Twins can control both of them for cheaper and longer than a combo of Ellsbury and Coco Crisp. I have no doubt that both Ellsbury and Hughes are going to be superstars in this league as long as they stay healthy, yet if the twins opt for Ellsbury, the situation might get interesting.

If the Twins inform the Yankees that they have a X amount of time to up their offer to prevent the Twins agreeing to the Red Sox offer, then I feel that the Twins can get a significantly better 3rd prospect from the Yankees. Personally, I feel that the Yankees have to do anything they can to beat the Red Sox in the deal for Santana. Imagine the Red Sox having a rotation of: Santana, Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Buchholz and Lester as the 6th man in case of an injury. In that rotation there's 2 out of the top 5 pitchers in the League right now in Santana and Beckett, with another former Cy-Young winner, one World Baseball Classic MVP and one 23 year old stud who recently pitched a no hitter. That's five potential number one pitchers right there. Furthermore, the Red Sox will continue to have strong rotations in the future with Santana, beckett, Dice-K, Buchholz and Lester. Personally, I don't see the Yankees ever matching up to that rotation.

If the Yankees do not get Santana, they will have to rely on a rotation of Wang, Hughes, Joba, Kennedy and Pettite (assuming that he comes back). In that rotation, your relying on three youngsters who have not pitched a whole season. Wang is an above average starter yet he does not have ace stuff. His win total is largely due to the largest run support margin. Furthermore, his strike out to walk ratio is extremely low and that shows that he's been getting awfully lucky with where the balls are hit. In fact, I expect him to hit a reality check and win less than 15 games next year. I feel that the Yankees need to get Santana especially if they want to do anything in the post season. Even with Pettite, the Yankees will have no one who they can rely on in a game 7 situation. For these reasons, the Yankees need Santana and should do whatever it takes to get him.

Don't be surprised to see the Yankees up the package because they will need to if they expect to be competitive in the playoffs next year.