(No, not like that...)A lot was cooking over the past weekend. Pumpkin pie, mac & cheese, green beans, the usual turkey, and...Johan Santana? It looks like our full stomachs cued our brains to imagine the best dessert possible, and that must have been the possibility of Santana being traded to another team for his final year. The rumors have been wild and rampant; now I take some time to discuss them here.
First let me recap my feelings on the issue. No no no. Keep Johan in Minnesota! New GM Bill Smith has some decisions to make, and one will be on how to turn his team into a contender once again, especially when they hit their new home. One easy choice will be to resign Johan Santana: a face of the franchise and arguably the best pitcher in the majors. Do not let him walk like Hunter did. Give him what he wants--he's probably worth it--and have a deadly one-two punch of Santana and Liriano that should be enough to ride you into October (not to mention the revenue they'd bring.)
Now for the facts and speculation. As is usually the case with this game, teams with star players who are on their contract years are wont to trade them before they hit free agency to get a little something out of it. It was thought that the Twins would take this path. Apparently though, the club made Santana an offer for a $93M/5 deal that he wasn't too happy with. In fact, thanks to what Boras got for Barry Zito, he may be looking for something along the lines of $150M/6. *Phew* Now, for someone of his caliber I wouldn't say that's totally unreasonable. But what do the Twins think?
Luckily, Smith is no idiot. If he is to trade away his ace, he wants just compensation in return. I'm talking prospect compensation. And this is where the Yankees come in to play. Various stove reports are saying that the Twins would want some combination of Hughes, Joba, Melky, Cano, and minor league bright spots. Come again? According to Buster Olney, Peter Gammons reports that they would like Hughes, Melky, and minor league outfielder Austin Jackson. Now wait just one minute. According to Cash, the new generation of pitchers is untouchable. Not to mention that the outfield becomes old with weak arms if we lose Melky. Is going back on the team philosophy worth it to snag the best pitcher in the game? Again, I say no. The youth movement has the chance to become just as good as Johan over time. This move may look good in the short term, but we all know it's the long run that matters.
Now, this would all be a simple situation if it weren't for two other factors. One: other teams are in the "bidding", too. The other frontrunners would be the Red Sox and Mets. The Red Sox are almost in more of a pickle than the Yanks, since any trade would involve sending their golden children Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia over--both of which are completely out of the question. As for the Mets, I can easily see Omar Minaya raping his farm to snag Santana. This is the same guy who wanted to give Jorge Posada 5 years, remember. Pete Abraham doesn't think they have the goods to satisfy Minnesota, but I suppose we'll have to see.
And two: Santana has a complete no trade clause. As in, he can veto any trade he doesn't like. So no longer is this just about what the organization wants. Instead, we have Johan agreeing to a trade IF AND ONLY IF the receiving team is interested in giving him the 6-year deal he desires. If not, no trade. The ball is completely in his court on this one.
(But the Yankees could be something he'd go with. Says Abraham:
"Santana, I believe, would approve a trade to the Yankees. I covered the game when he faced the Yankees on July 4 and Santana said afterward how much he enjoyed pitching in New York. Even manager Ron Gardenhire commented on it. “I hate to say it, but he loves it here,” Gardenhire said. “He loves the big stage, the big stadium.”
Santana is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in four career games at Yankee Stadium."
Awesome... But NO! No no no!)So that's the situation as served by the media as of late. Of course I'm biased--Santana is my favorite pitcher on my second favorite team, and I'd love to see them stick together. Also, I really respect my favorite team's new "youth movement" and don't want to see it violated a few months after it was instated. I don't think either Cashman or Smith are dumb enough to make a move here, and I fully expect to see Johan opening the season for the Twins in April. But will he be set to do the same for them for years to come? That is something we'll have to see...
But one thing's for sure. If Johan Santana is allowed to hit free agency, the hot stove will probably send the entire country into flames.
In other news: A milestone clause was added into Arod's contract. He'll get an additional $6M every time he goes up a rank in the top 5 on the All Time HR list. Apparently it's to give him a share of all the revenue his chase will create, but I still think it's sorta silly. I mean, it's like a videogame.
"Arod grows to level 661! Gains 200000 EXP and $6M gp!"
*rolleyes* This whole stunt raises his earnings, assuming he meets all marks, to over $300M. I sure do hope Alex gets over his issues; all this pressure may prevent him from ever hitting a HR again.
