Latest Santana Buzz From MetsBlog

As a Mets fan I say do it. Gomez, F-Mart, and Mulvey might become something special, they might not. The best pitcher in baseball, in a pitcher's park, in the NL, for 6-7 years? Do that deal in a heartbeat.

(I am assuming Citi Field will still be a pitcher's park.)

While Keith's idea might be right, I think the mistake is, teams are not dealing for one year of Santana, they're dealing for (likely) seven years. And while the length may scare potential suitors off, it also makes dealing Martinez a better value, as you'd be keeping Santana for more than one year.

no one's really dealing for seven years. they're dealing for one year and the exclusive rights to negotiate an extension. from what i've heard, 7/140 is the starting point for an extension (at least with boston; maybe santana would lessen the demand for the mets). getting the "privilege" of being the team that pays santana 7/140 doesn't make dealing martinez a better value.

Plus IF Pedro returns to form (a big if, sure) then the Mets, not the Twins, have the best 1-2 in baseball.

no, epoc, they are, essentially, dealing for seven years, or however long the extension ends up being. santana is not going to approve the deal without an extension, while no team would give up the farm for one year of him. thus, if the extension falls through, the deal falls through. SO, in all pratical respects, the team is dealing for santana + whatever his extension ends up being. it does end up being a better value, if the team is willing to pay it, because the return you receive from the trade is not limited to one year. now, whether the deal itself is worth it is another matter. but for the mets, especially, the deal is a much better value than for one year of santana.

This isn't about Santana for one year, any Santana trade is two tier, appeasing the Twins, and then appeasing Santana with a contract offer, Santana has a NTC in his contract, so he can veto any trade that doesn't have a contract extension to his demands.

The three teams that can easily afford Santana would be the Mets, the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Mets package is nice, but they need a Reyes or Wright in the deal or a pitcher like Maine to seal the deal. The Twins are demanding alot for Santana. The Yankees and Red Sox were offering better deals for the Twins, not just prospects... but proven Major Leaguers...

I'm a Yankees fan, and I hope the Mets get Santana. You can give the Twins some of the best prospects in your system and still not add up to what the Twins will be asking for. So yeah, give your very best prospects and give Santana a 7 year 140 millon dollar contract and lets see which team is better in about 2 years. I'm sticking with Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain and you can take a 35 year old Santana.

Those are all fair points chin. I am a Met fan, and pretty much feel the same way. I want Johan, but not at the expense of Gomez, Martinez and more, not to mention a huge contract. Nothing against Johan personally, just seems to steep. People have said things like Pedro/ Johan could be the top 1/2, and that would make them immediate front runners to win the NL, but still.... what if somebody goes down?

Lets say the Mets trade both Guerra and Mulvey, along with the 2 young outfielders. Now, what happens when Alou goes down for a couple weeks. Endy is a nice player, but has proven he is better in small doses, not getting 4 AB's a day. Atleast with this proposal, they keep Humber ad Pelfrey incase one of their pitchers goes down. The thing is though, if they do trade for Johan, and then a big piece gets hurt, like Wright or Reyes or Beltran, they will have no way of filling that hole internally, and will also have no chips to make a move. Thats what scares me about emptying the farm.

I will say this though, for the last month or two I have been openly discussing how I do not want Johan on the Mets at his current price. That said, if they do land him, I will be as pumped up as ever when the season starts and he is on the hill. It will just sting to lose Gomez/Fmart/Guerra. And then we better hope for a healthy year from pretty much everyone.

The question you have to ask is what is Santana worth. You would get 1 year of him at I think $13M then whatever the extension is. Is that worth prospects?

For the Mets/Yankees it could be the piece that puts them over the top. For the Red Sox I think it would continue to generate championships. Granted you will pay a steep price for him. But will he put butts in seats? Will he sell merchandise? Will he generate more TV Revenue? I would think the Mets/Yankees who own their own TV Stations could generate a lot of Ad Revenue. So its a wash cash wise. But you lose some prospects.

2-3 years ago the Yankees had one of the worst farms in MLB. Now look. So it doesn't take too much to build it back, if your draft smart. What will Starting pitching cost in 3 years (when Santana is making $20 Mil) when guys like Silva/Meche are getting $10 Mil. That is also something you need to consider.

There is no guarnetee his health will hold and there is no guarentee that the prospects will turn out to be good or that thier health will hold.

Me personally I would make the trade because you know what your getting. Front load the contract so he is making more when he is good, then if you need to trade him he is making less. Then throw some bones. Cy young, 3 Mil. WS MVP, 3 mil... etc.. etc...