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Neal On Santana Staying

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La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune was recently named Rumor Royalty for the Twins.  As part of the feature, he answered a few questions for MLBTR.

MLBTR: In your estimation what is the percent likelihood that Johan Santana stays with the Twins for all of ’08 and Bill Smith just collects the draft picks?  I imagine fans wouldn’t mind seeing Johan and Francisco Liriano paired up one last time.

Neal: I would guess 10 percent – and some people would say that’s too high. The Twins had to deal with Torii Hunter’s lame duck season last year and, while it would be entertaining to watch Santana work his craft during a walk year, the Twins would be criticized all season for not dealing Santana to get players who could fill holes on the major league roster and boost the minor league system.

Neal On Garza Trade

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I recently named La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as Rumor Royalty for the Twins.  He answered a few questions for MLBTR.

MLBTR: Given the loss of Carlos Silva and probable trade of Santana, was it wise for the Twins to send Matt Garza to the Rays?

Neal: The Twins needed to address their offense. They were deficient last season at third base, left field and, on the days Joe Mauer wasn’t available, designated hitter. Scouts from other organizations keep talking about Delmon Young’s 40-homer potential, and it was nice to hear Brendan Harris say, "everyone has to pull their weight at the dish," on the day of the trade. I’ve covered this team for 10 years and have seen a lot of bad offense.

You can’t blame the Twins for not re-signing Silva, but you wonder why they didn’t trade him during the season when the Phillies and other teams were interested.

Johan Santana Rumors

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As usual, MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone sums up the latest on the Johan Santana front.  It’s not Cerrone’s fault, but it looks like things are pretty quiet right now.  A summary:

  • The Mets still appear to be the frontrunner.
  • As you might expect, Santana would like this done by month’s end.  He’s not stomping his feet and demanding it though.
  • And that’s pretty much where we stand…I would like to see this thing take a dramatic turn, maybe a late bid from a random team.  But it looks like we’ll keep slugging along.

Neal On Johan Santana Talks

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I recently named La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as Rumor Royalty for the Twins.  He answered a few questions for MLBTR, so let’s kick it off.

MLBTR: Are you sick of the Johan Santana saga yet?  These talks have been dragging for a month after it seemed like something would get done at the Winter Meetings.  Who will cave in – the Twins, Yankees, Mets, or Red Sox?

Neal: Can’t wait for this to end! I think the Twins have sent out signals in recent weeks that they have lowered their demands some in order to get something done. I initially felt that the Red Sox had the best chance to land Santana because I kept hearing how well talks were going. Then I thought the Yankees would step up and make the deal because they have a greater need for a front line starter than Boston. But the Mets have a greater need than the Yankees, and as soon as the Twins indicated that they would accept a deal with the Mets without Jose Reyes being involved the Mets’ chances shot upward.

I don’t blame a team for holding out to get what they want, but Santana will require a hefty contract extension wherever he winds up. A team won’t empty its roster and take on salary. So get what you can and move on.

Rumor Royalty: La Velle E. Neal III (Twins)

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As originally described here, Rumor Royalty is an MLBTR series where I name the one journalist for each team who has done the most for us hot stove junkies.  If the writer is up for it, I ask that person questions for publication on the site.  You can see all of the entries in the series here.

Today we present the honor for the Twins to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  You may also know him by the nickname LEN3, which I first saw on Aaron Gleeman’s site.  In addition to filing stories as the Twins’ beat writer, La Velle keeps a blog for the paper.  This has become an invaluable resource, especially for Johan updates.  La Velle kindly answered three Twins questions for MLBTR, which will be appear over the next few days.

Mets In Lead For Santana, Yanks Out?

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UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 6:45pm: Santana’s agent says he has not demanded that the Twins trade Johan prior to pitchers and catchers reporting.

UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 5:30pm: One source told Ken Rosenthal that the Yanks "are no longer talking to the Twins about Santana."  If that’s true, perhaps Hank will just announce it soon.

UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 3:51pm: Cerrone has a bit more, including a note that Santana and his agents are in lock down.

FROM 1-11-08 at 7:53am:

MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone sums up the latest buzz around the Johan Santana trade talks.  It seems the Mets are in the lead for Santana, proactively trying to find a way to make it work.  They are Santana’s preference, they have the money for him, and they might have the players to get it done.

Cerrone says Santana would like to have this thing wrapped up before pitchers and catchers report, about five weeks from now.

David Lennon of Newsday also checks in on the situation, agreeing with most of Cerrone’s info.  It’s still not completely clear whether the Twins have stopped bringing up Jose Reyes.  Lennon adds that the Mets couldn’t complete the deal just by adding Fernando Martinez, as had been previously reported.  Kevin Kernan says the Mets won’t do a five for one deal, anyway.  There seems to be a lot of conflicting info floating about on this one.

Brewers Sign Mike Cameron

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UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 5:21pm: Tom Haudricourt has the contract details.  Cameron gets a $1.25MM signing bonus and will make about $4.22MM in ’08 (missed out on $780K due to his suspension).  The 2009 option is for $10MM, plus a $750K buyout.  As Haudricourt says, in a way it’s a one-year, $6.22MM deal.  Were the Padres unwilling to pay this amount?  By the way, the signing isn’t a precursor to a Bill Hall trade.

FROM 1-11-08 at 2:18pm:

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers have signed center fielder Mike Cameron to a one-year deal with a club option for 2009.  The amount is not yet known, but this seems like a solid move by Doug Melvin.

Rosenthal adds that one reason the Yankees may have passed is that they were unwilling to pay both Cameron and Johan Santana.  (Really?)

Once Cameron finishes his 25 game stimulant suspension, he’ll push Bill Hall to third and Ryan Braun to left field.  So the Brewers gain defensively and get a career .251/.341/.445 hitter to play center (definitely above average for the position).

Odds and Ends: Morneau, Jocketty, Santana

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Your usual dose of random rumors and links…

Brewers, Yankees Interested In Mike Cameron

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UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 11:58pm: Ken Rosenthal checks in, adding that the Cubs and Twins are on the fringes for Cameron.  However he expects Cameron to end up with the Yankees or Brewers, before anything is determined with Johan Santana.  The Yanks could always just keep Melky Cabrera or spin him off for prospects.  The Braves and Pirates have expressed interest in him in the past.

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:04pm: Haudricourt says the Yankees’ are the Brewers’ main competition for Cameron, in the event they trade Melky Cabrera.  It’s known that A-Rod has been "privately endorsing" him. 

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 10:23am: Haudricourt adds that the Brewers could be considering trading Hall, rather than changing his position again.  He says the fact that Doug Melvin didn’t return his calls may indicate something is going on.

FROM 1-09-08 at 9:20pm:

Both Ken Rosenthal and Tom Haudricourt are saying this evening that the Brewers are interested in free agent center fielder Mike Cameron.

Haudricourt is surprised, since the Brewers were supposedly targeting a left-handed hitting left fielder like Kenny Lofton or Luis Gonzalez.  Instead, they could shift Bill Hall to third base and Ryan Braun to left to make room for Cameron.

Rosenthal calls it "serious interest," but notes that moving Hall again might be a "delicate situation."  I’m sure Hall would understand if the signing made the team better.  Rosenthal says Cameron is drawing interest from at least two other clubs, which could include the Reds.

Mets May Have Top Santana Offer; Yanks Backing Off?

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UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 11:29am: Christensen says Mets owner Fred Wilpon gave Omar Minaya the green light to try to acquire Santana, meaning he’s amenable to a contract extension exceeding $100MM.

UPDATE, 1-10-08 at 9:38am: Peter Botte of the New York Daily News has a new quote from Hank: he’s "leaning away from" from the Yankees doing a Santana deal.

FROM 1-09-08 at 10:54pm:

Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests the Mets might be the best fit for Johan Santana.  He says they’re offering four players, three of them pitchers: Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey, and Phil Humber.  It’s a strong package. 

Christensen says the Twins would accept if the Mets added Fernando Martinez to the package (not sure if Martinez would replace Gomez, or it would just be five players instead of four).

Something’s got to give here in the next few weeks – how long can the Santana saga hold up the free agent pitching market?

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