Monday, January 14, 2008

Johan Santana

The #1 question facing the Minnesota Twins and perhaps all of baseball is if, when, and to who Johan Santana will be traded. The rumors have been swirling for months, before the winter meetings started. It has been quiet on the Red Sox and Yankees front since the winter meetings. The Red Sox wish to center a trade around CF Jacoby Ellsbury, SS Jed Lowrie, and SP Justin Masterson, or a different package which substitutes CF Coco Crisp and SP Jon Lester instead of playoff hero Ellsbury. The Yankees have an offer of SP Phil Hughes and CF Melky Cabrera. The Mets have suddenly popped up in discussions and are the front runners now with an offer of SP Deolis Guerra, CF Carlos Gomez, SP Kevin Mulvey, and SP Philip Humber. If they add the Dominican outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, they will likely be the winners in the Santana sweepstakes.
All the offers are solid but I don't think the Twins should take one yet becaue the other teams should offer more. Santana is the best pitcher on the planet, and it's not even close. The Red Sox could package Lester and Ellsbury together, or offer Clay Buchholz. The Yankees could add Robison Cano or Joba Chamberlain or Ian Kennedy, and the Mets, as previously mentioned need to add Fernando Martinez. The thing I don't get is why these teams are so afraid to part with these prospects. Sure, they will probably turn into solid baseball players, perhaps All-Stars, but do any of these guys have even a chance of turning into a Johan Santana type player? I think not. Sure he will cost more money than any other pitcher in history AND some top of the line prospects but he will definitely be worth it. This is the best pitcher on the planet we are talking about.

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