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Stat Ogling - Phil Hughes vs. Johan Santana
Phil Hughes had a pretty good first half, so I was thinking, "Hey, that non-trade the Yankees made with the Twins for Johan Santana is looking a lot better now." Well, let's look at that. Since Santana was traded to the Mets rather than the Yankees Phil Hughes has had one disastrous season, one great season in the bullpen, and is now putting together a solid season as a starter. Johan Santana put up one badass season, one injury-shortened season, and what is shaping up to be another badass season. Including this season up to the All-Star break, Hughes is three wins above replacement; Santana is 13.2 wins above replacement since the trade.

In conclusion, no, you are wrong, Jeffrey. Some other considerations make my claim a little less wrong though. Santana pitches in the weaker hitting National League so his numbers would be down in the AL East and Hughes' numbers would be up in the NL East. Hughes has made just over a million dollars since the trade while Santana has made over fifty-five. Also, Hughes alone wouldn't have been the package. If Cano, Chamberlain, or Melky Cabrera had been included the Yankees would have lost more value. If Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, or Jose Tabata had been included the Yankees would have lost a trade chip. Over the life of Santana's contract I still think he'll be more valuable than Hughes. Considering Hughes will probably make less than a quarter of the salary - assuming he gets a decent, but not huge, contract in his first couple years of free agency - it makes him a better value. The Yankees actually look like they've been keeping to a (very high) budget so it's possible that if they obtained Santana they wouldn't have obtained Sabathia. Sabathia + Hughes over the life of Santana's contract is certainly a better deal.
 
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