Santana

OldGoat · **Joined:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:32 pm **Posts:** 1375

Funny how there was such buzz going about Santana. The Twins really should move him in order to get the most for him, rather than taking two draft picks. The big trouble with Johan is that he will be looking for a big extention, 7 years is what he is asking for, and somewhere around 140 million. That is quite a load. Johan is in the drivers seat with this. He has a full NTC, that means he can squash any deal the Twins work up.

So far we know the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets have been the most serious contenders for him. I personally think that while the Red Sox wouldn't turn him down, they aren't really all out for getting him at this point.

The RS offer is Lester, Cereal Boy Crisp, Lowrie and Masterson. There was also a SMALLER package that took out Lester and Cereal Boy for Ellsbury.

Looking at that offer, I just don't see what would cause the Twins to pull the trigger on it. Lester is a big risk, health wise. I think that the RS want to move Lester because of it. Lester had cancer and frankly it can come back, not that I wish that on him. Lester isn't a pitcher that I think is all that high end. Maybe he will improve over time, but I don't think he comes up to Kennedy's level, let alone Hughes.

The Mets are offering a package of 5 prospects, not one MLB ready player in the bunch. I think the Twins are interested simply for two reasons. 1. Its a bargaining chip to try to get the other two teams to bid more. 2. It would move him to a different league where they wouldn't be facing him. I think both the RS and the Yankees wouldn't be all that sad to see him go to the Mets, even though I think they would be getting a bargain. Trouble is it empties the Mets farm system.

The Yankees had an offer during the Winter Meetings of Kennedy, Melky, and two prospects. The Twins wanted Hughes and ultimately Hughes was substituted for Kennedy. The Twins played games and Hank put a deadline on the talks. The Twins want both Hughes and Kennedy.

I can't say that I am wild about the Yankees giving up Hughes. Giving up Hughes after all the build up to him, and seeing what he was able to do prior to getting hurt and after he recovered is a tough one. Adding Kennedy and Hughes together though is absurd. I'd walk away with no problem sleeping afterward, even if the Twins when to the RS and completed the deal. Kennedy has shown a decent control and command on the mound. Hughes has as well. I would rather see the Yankees take their chances at keeping the young guns. At MOST I would go with the original offer of Kennedy.

Of the three pitchers, Kennedy is the easiest for us fans to give up. Joba was electric, and I think he could be a superstud pitcher. Hughes is the future of the francise, even for Santanamanabama that is a hurtful trade. Hughes represents to us a new direction with the thought processes. It is the growing trend that Pitchers stay with their teams, sign extentions with them, so the really good ones usually don't come up for offer unless they cost too much or have some tough years.

I think the Santana deal won't happen - thanks mostly to Bill Smith - the GM for the Twins, he blew it. He wanted too much for a one year deal of Johan, and it backfired. I will laugh if Johan uses his NTC to stay with the Twins and makes them eat the two draft picks.

Al · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:16 am

OldGoat wrote:

I think the Santana deal won't happen - thanks mostly to Bill Smith - the GM for the Twins, he blew it. He wanted too much for a one year deal of Johan, and it backfired. I will laugh if Johan uses his NTC to stay with the Twins and makes them eat the two draft picks.

I agree.

OldGoat · **Joined:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:32 pm **Posts:** 1375

Al, glad you found the new site.

I don't know if the old one will be "saved", which is too bad.

Al · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:31 am

Saw Charmaine's post on "Blogging the Bombers" although I couldn't get on for about 5 hours after I saw it. Finally, it worked.

Jorge (México) · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:54 pm

Al wrote:

OldGoat wrote:

I think the Santana deal won't happen - thanks mostly to Bill Smith - the GM for the Twins, he blew it. He wanted too much for a one year deal of Johan, and it backfired. I will laugh if Johan uses his NTC to stay with the Twins and makes them eat the two draft picks.

I agree.

Agree with both of you. And, do you know what? I feel very comfortable with the decision.

OldGoat · **Joined:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:32 pm **Posts:** 1375

Jorge! Glad to see you found your way here as well. Where did you get the address from? Just curious to see where people are coming from.

I agree, I feel comfortable with the chance to see what Hughes has. I think this is going to be an interesting year, but I wouldn't cry if the Yankees do some deal to get Santana. I would prefer Kennedy being the centerpiece to that deal though.

Jorge (México) · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:28 pm

Agree once again, OG. OF COURSE, I wouldn't cry if Santana becomes a Yankee.

FYI, I read a comment posted by "la mía bambina" on Mark Feinsand's site. She posted the link, and I'm back here!!!!!!

OldGoat · **Joined:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:32 pm **Posts:** 1375

Jorge (México) wrote:

Agree once again, OG. OF COURSE, I wouldn't cry if Santana becomes a Yankee.

FYI, I read a comment posted by "la mía bambina" on Mark Feinsand's site. She posted the link, and I'm back here!!!!!!

Charmaine tracked me down and called me to see if there was anything she could do. I had already started this site because of not having much faith in the old site to come back on line. Charmaine is the best! Without her I would probably be posting things to myself. :lol:

Charmaine · **Joined:** Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:12 pm **Posts:** 3435

Aww, thanks for saying that Old Goat. :oops:

Remember, I had selfish motives for tracking you down--I missed everyone!

Chuck · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:37 pm

and, we missed you

OldGoat · **Joined:** Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:32 pm **Posts:** 1375

Quote:

Sid Hartman: Yankees officials disagree over asking price for Twins' Santana
The Bronx Bombers would love to see the lefthander in pinstripes, but front-office personnel differ on how much he should cost in salary and young talent.

By SID HARTMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: January 16, 2008 - 8:28 PM

Hank Steinbrenner, son of New York Yankees owner George, made it clear Wednesday that the club still has some interest in making a deal for Twins lefthander Johan Santana, but there is not a unanimous opinion among club officials whether they should pay the Twins' asking price.

"At this point I think that it kind of looks like we probably won't do it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to," Hank said. "I'm kind of back and forth on it, and some people don't want to do it because of the money."

Hank said the Yankees would not give Santana a seven-year guaranteed contract calling for $140 million.

Brian Cashman, the Yankees general manager, and Hank's brother, Hal, also are not willing to give away a lot of young talent to get Santana.

"Just strictly because of the money, they are advising not to," Hank said. "But ... nobody would ever say 'don't do it' as far as getting Santana because nobody could say that. He's one of the two best pitchers in baseball, but I'm running into resistance.

"I think we could get him, but it's just a matter [of what] to give up. Certainly we don't want to give up [righthander] Phil Hughes and [center fielder] Melky Cabrera, but you know, look what you're getting.

"... It really comes down to if I want to do it, I can do it, but I want to try and keep everybody happy. I think the situation's probably the same in Boston. I think John Henry, the owner there, wants to do it. He wants to get him, too, but others don't. So he's just trying to keep everybody happy.

"I don't want to say what I would give, because Minnesota will claim I'm tampering. Yes, the door definitely isn't completely closed."

Hank said he believes the Mets are serious about trying to trade for Santana. "I think they may need him worse than we do or the Red Sox do," he said. "It's just a matter of do they have what it takes to trade for him."

I also had a nice talk with George following my conversation with Hank. He seemed to know what is going on, despite rumors to the contrary.

Source
So, reading into this article a little bit, I think there is still interest from the Yankees. I think the real sticking point is Hughes.

I think the money Santana would be asking for is also making some teams a bit hesitant.

Another article I read seemed to indicate that there might be some concerns from the Twins about Santana's health. It noted the loss in velocity and his lack of using the slider in the later part of the season. I've heard a lot of speculation on this, and there was talk that he was affected some by a fingernail problem as well. That doesn't answer the loss of velocity problem though.

I have to wonder if some of those concerns are in part what had the Twins reportedly lowering their demands a bit.

I know Santana has been a healthy pitcher throughout, but he does have a lot of pitches on his arm. All these things probably come into the decision making process. Imagine if you are the Yankees or Red Sox or Mets, trade a lot of talent for Johan and then have him turn into a new version of "DL Carla". That would hurt any team, even the Yankees would have a hard time absorbing the high salary of Santana with no production coming from him.

I think this game will play out soon. Once a "final" package comes from the Mets, I wouldn't be shocked to hear the Yankees coming back with one more offer.