Breslow gone. Swarzak called up.

Today the Twins announced that Craig Breslow has been claimed off waivers by Oakland.  Anthony Swarzak has been called up to replace Breslow on the roster.  Swarzak will be the Twins starting pitcher on Saturday against the Brewers.  He should get a couple of starts while Perkins is on the DL.  If he impresses, he might be put in the bullpen when Perkins comes back (which should be in 15 days.)  

Delmon Young returns this weekend and I'm sure Jose Morales will be sent back down to AAA Rochester when Young returns.  Besides that move, I'd expect the next move will be to get rid of Luis Ayala.  I still can't understand why the Twins thought he'd be a good sign.  He was in the horrid Mets bullpen last year and was cut and was then on the Nationals.  I don't know about you but I don't really want to see a cast-off from the Nationals playing on my team.  I'd imagine the next guy to be called up would be relief pitcher Bobby Keppel.  He is the other pitcher in AAA Rochester's bullpen that has pitched great this year.  Hopefully though the Twins will call up Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama, or at least promote them to AAA.

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.