Johan Santana Rumors

Man, there are going to be some people that will take you seriously on that =P

Tim, I read that article and I think it said those 3 pitchers won't be traded for positional players, does not say they wouldn't trade one of them in a package for Santana.

Uh, nevermind, disregard what I said, I misread you =)

Looks like Cashman won't part with Hughes or Joba.

Kennedy is probably the most tradeable one of the trinity.

Is Wang still in play? Earlier it was reported that the Yankees asked the Twins who else was needed besides Wang for a package to get Santana.

I think the Twins would be stupid to take Wang unless cash and Cano were in the deal, but whatever...

I love it. Every time there is a Yankees rumor, it's "they'd love Cabrera or Johan, but are unwilling to part with Hughes, Joba or Kennedy."

First of all, why is Kennedy even grouped in with the other two? He has average stuff, throws strikes and would be more valuable to the Yankees, who will score him 5 runs a start. He seems like a good #4 on a good team at most.

As for the other two..you think the best pitcher of this millenium or a 24 year old super-duper-star hitter's is going to be available for Melky and a couple second tier guys?

"The Yankees wont give up what it takes because they can pay him whatever they want when he hits free agency at the end of 08, period."

Exactly. The only way I see them potentially trading for Santana is if some other team seems close. Obviously, whoever trades for Santana would not do so without signing him to a serious extension. This would spoil the Yank ideal of signing Santana as a free agent. If that doesn't happen, the Yanks would be foolish to trade for him. They have the potential to be a solid rotation this year.

Thats true, but I believe Santana is a special case. I believe that Santana is the most valuable player in baseball. It depends on the Twins stance, but Santana should command a HUGE bounty in TOP prospects (way more than the the Teix trade and much more than a Cabrera trade, i think). It will be interesting to watch how things play out. Prospects seem to be such a commodity that teams are less and less likely to deal them. Its hard to say how this will go.

My guess is that Minnesota will not be able to extend him.

what do you think about the mets signing arod, trading jose reyes and co for santana and then letting arod play shortstop?

@Jess:

Beltran for Santana? Are the Mets also going to pay for 90% of Beltran's salary? Because if not, the Twins might as well just keep Santana and pay him.

--

Kennedy lacks the stuff but has impeccable control and a good baseball mind. I hate how most people treat him like he's some scrub. He doesn't throw in the 80s like Zito, he sits at around 90-94, which isn't great, but isn't bad either.

He's a good #4/#5 starter at worst in the AL and can probably be penciled in as a #3 starter in the NL.

As for the other two guys... Santana is definitely worth trading one of them and a couple prospects for, but they're not "second tier."

Hughes is probably a close second to Lincecum in terms of pure stuff (ahead of Bailey and Gallardo), AND has the bulk to withstand 200IP. He's not "second-tier" by any means. Unless something goes terribly wrong, he's going to be a #1/#2.

We all saw Joba pitch and I think you can safely say that if the starting gig doesn't work out, he'll become a good closer. No one can argue about his stuff.

Is Santana worth one of them + prospects. Hell yes, but please stop treating the 3 pitchers like they're some no name second tier prospects.

Cashman's probably reluctant to trade because he essentially has 3/5ths of his starting rotation for the next 5-6 years.

wayne gomes:

Ah, my bad in that case.

And I agree, Santana and Cabrera will cost one of the 3 to start with.

I think Santana is worth letting Joba or Hughes go because of the Yankees' desperate need for an ace, but the hole at 3B can be filled by trading the second tier of prospects.

Horne+Clippard or Horne+Ramirez should be able to fetch a young 3B no?

I'm not that big on Clippard or Ramirez, but guys like Mora and Blalock could be had for those packages.

As a non-Yankee fan I would agree that Santana is worth Joba/Hughes, Melky plus another young, high upside guy. Sometimes as a fan it's hard to be objective about your own team's prospects; I have the same tendencies as a Phillies fan. We're talking about the best pitcher in the league since 2000 here though, and he's still young and dominant.

What does any of this have to do with John McDonald?

"The Mets would be stupid to trade Reyes for Santana. They need a centerfielder and we need a pitcher: Beltran for Santana outright."

Oh, but that wouldnt be stupid? First of all, if the Twins could afford a monster contract, then they would just lock up Santana or Torii Hunter, not trade for Beltran. Second of all, from the Mets POV, that trade is just as stupid as trading Reyes. How many GG calibur, post close to a .900 OPS almost every year, 30/30 kind of CFs? They are not trading Beltran, if they did, they would be trading him for prospects and cheap kids presumably to free up some salary.

"what do you think about the mets signing arod, trading jose reyes and co for santana and then letting arod play shortstop?"

Um. No. They would never get Reyes even straight up, forget about this whole "and co" stuff. A writer close to the Mets (I forget who it was, maybe Marty Noble), when asked about a possible Reyes/Santana swap, said the Mets would only make that trade if Mauer/Morneau were soming back also. Now, obviously that is ridiculous, and I realize this is a sports writer that I am sort of quoting, but he has been covering the Mets for like 40 years and I believe he knows what he is talking about. Again, obviously the Twins would laugh andhang up if Omar asked themm to include Morneau/Mauer, but that is sort of the point I think. Reyes is pretty close to untouchable.

I don't think Santana will be playing for either NY team next season. Neither team has prospects/young players that match up with what the Twins want. Either team would probably have to part with Reyes or Cano to get involved and that's not going to happen.

I think it will take 2 premium prospects/young players and a useful player to get Santana. And LAD, LAA, SEA or BOS match up better IMO.

And if Santana becomes a FA, will the Yankees really be the only team bidding on him?

If you think it is worth it too trade Chris Young, Chad Tracy, and a good relief arm for CMW, then yeah. I dont think the D backs would come off good in that trade though. Arizona should up their payroll a little bit and trade for Santana and extend him with a backloaded contract. That team would immediately be built to make the playoffs every year, and with Santana and Webb they would get to some world series'. They have a great park and if they get a big name like Santana they can fill it up. Bringing in Santana for say Chris Young, Chad Tracy, Carlos Gonzales, and simply replace Young with Upton could make them an NL power house. Almost all of their position players are making peanuts.

In the NL, that could be a team that would have a shot at getting to the world series every year.

It will never happen, but it would be awesome if it did.

It may be a little much but it would result in decreasing the DBacks overall salary while filling their biggest need of a front end SP with years of control.

I'd hate to lose Young but you have to give to get. The relievers are all good but all at or near the end of their control and getting expensive.

We'd still have a solid outfield of Upton, Quentin and Byrnes but would have a much better rotation and about 10 million to fill gaps.

I think that the deal would have to look more like: Yankees get: Chad Tracy and Santana, D-Backs get: Wang, Twins get: Chris Young, Jose Tabata. Makes sense for every team, the Yankees give up a lot, but they get Santana and Tracy, filling two holes. The D-Backs won't do this deal if it includes Valverde, but if they give up only Chris Young and Tracy, both surplusses, and add Wang, a need, it might make sense. They already have Reynolds at 3B, and they have more than enough outfielders still with Byrnes, Upton, Quentin and Gonzalez. The Twins would get two bonafide top outfield prospects that would be able to start with Cuddyer and make a real good lineup with Morneau and Mauer.

Twins do not need pitching... They need offense, can we stop talking about pitching prospects? For that they can look in the minors.

no team like the twins will let santanna get to free agency when they know they will lose him.why keep him and allow him to get to f.a. when you can trade him for 3 top prospects,it isn't smart,yankees or any other team have no shot at waiting to get santanna in f.a.