Twins Intrigued With Mets’ Johan Offer?
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a new article up focused on how the ultimate package for Johan Santana may not be fan-pleasing. That’s because the Twins "seem most intrigued" with the Mets’ offer, which doesn’t include household names. They’re proposing some combination of Carlos Gomez, Fernando Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey. Seems it would be one of the outfielders plus the three pitchers.
Christensen notes the Chuck Knoblauch and A.J. Pierzynski trades as examples of deals that were derided in Minnesota at the time but ended up favoring the Twins. However I do believe fans are better equipped to evaluate trades these days, the way prospects are followed. (An aside – I still think we all would’ve praised Brian Sabean at the time of the Pierzynski/Liriano/Bonser/Nathan deal.)
In other Johan news, Sid Hartman has some fresh Hank quotes if you’re interested.
Mets Re-Sign Valentin?
UPDATE, 1-16-08 at 9:06am: Mark Hale of the New York Post quotes Valentin’s agent saying he has a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite with the Mets. He can earn $1MM if he makes the club. The Mets haven’t confirmed this yet.
FROM 1-8-08 at 2:57pm:
El Nuevo Dia is reporting that infielder Jose Valentin is close to re-signing with the Mets. He talked to several teams, but decided to take a nonguaranteed backup role with New York.
A few months ago, MLB.com’s Marty Noble suggested the Mets would only re-sign Valentin if he was able to play the outfield. Valentin dealt with a partially torn ACL and fractured tibia in ’07, and hopes to be 100% in February.
Odds and Ends: Manny, Johan, Saarloos
Here are some links I’ve rounded up for today. I like the analogy that the Odds and Ends posts are like a pack of baseball cards. You never know what you’ll get, and sometimes there’s gum.
- UmpBump explains why they expect Manny Ramirez to retire a Red Sox.
- Matthew Cerrone provides some new Johan Santana musings.
- RotoAuthority (which I write) ranks the 78 starting pitchers you should consider in your fantasy baseball mixed league.
- The A’s, admitting they need bodies, will bring Kirk Saarloos back on a minor league invite. He’ll be 29 in May; his claim to fame is winning ten games for the ’05 A’s.
- The Rangers will need to make roster space for Jason Jennings; could Jason Botts be DFA’d?
Mayo On Fernando Martinez and Johan Santana
Jonathan Mayo is a prominent writer on MLB.com, focusing on the minor leagues more recently. Mayo recently wrote a book called Facing Clemens, which "puts you right in the batter’s box against the Rocket Man." Mayo finished the book before the steroid allegations surfaced, but it sounds like an interesting read regardless. I asked Mayo some questions for publication on MLBTR.
MLBTR: Where do you stand on Fernando Martinez? Would the Mets regret trading him and a few other prospects for one year of Johan Santana?
Mayo: There’s always the risk when you trade a young player with so much upside potential that you’ll regret trading him, just like the Astros probably regret leaving Santana unprotected in the Rule 5 draft several years back. But I think that things work a little differently in a market like New York. There’s such pressure to win immediately and there’s the financial ability to fix things via free agency or trading for high-priced players in the future.
I think Martinez has the chance to be a very special player, but it could take several years for him to reach that potential. I’d love to see him become a star in New York, but I think the Mets would have to consider dealing him if they felt that Santana is the piece they need to get over the hump and back to the World Series. Besides, who says it’d be for just one year of Santana. I think that any of the teams who have been rumored to be in the Santana hunt would make a serious run at re-upping Johan for several years after 2008.
Latest On Bedard/Mariners Talks
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer jumps into the Erik Bedard fray with some new info. Connecting a few dots – I’m speculating here – it seems possible that the Mets could move to the forefront on Bedard as the Mariners fade. If the Mets pony up Fernando Martinez and some decent pitching depth, maybe Andy MacPhail would go for it.
- Hickey says that with Adam Jones returning to action in Venezuela, "the Mariners have may given up on acquiring Bedard."
- Nonetheless, according to Hickey, the Orioles "appear to be looking at" the Mariners’ Chris Tillman and Carlos Triunfel.
- The Orioles originally wanted Brandon Morrow, but that seems unlikely. Hickey adds that Jeff Clement "may be off the table for the moment, too." Clement didn’t seem to make a ton of sense for Baltimore anyway.
Mets Prefer Bedard Over Santana?
Interesting line from Lisa Kennelly of the Newark Star-Ledger today:
The Mets, however, prefer Baltimore’s Erik Bedard over Santana, since he wouldn’t require the same lucrative extension as part of the deal.
The Mets have an option the Red Sox and Yankees probably don’t – they might be able to acquire Erik Bedard for a price similar to what it would take to get Johan Santana. It makes complete sense that Bedard would be more attractive – it’s two years of him versus one of Santana. Even if Santana is a slightly better/more durable pitcher, two years easily outweighs that. Jon Heyman said on December 3rd that the Mets had offered Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, and Aaron Heilman for Bedard, which "barely drew a response from Baltimore."
The Mets’ interest in Bedard goes back for at least a few months; it’s probably just been on the backburner. The Red Sox and Yankees have expressed interest, but it was said that Peter Angelos didn’t want to trade Bedard within the division.
Johan Santana Rumors
It’s time for today’s dose of Johan Santana rumors and info. It’s funny – I sense that everyone is getting sick of this stuff and would prefer a fresh rumor about, say, Brad Wilkerson.
- Lisa Kennelly wrote this morning that the Mets appear to be sticking to their guns with an offer of Carlos Gomez or Fernando Martinez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra. However, she says the Mets prefer Erik Bedard over Santana since he will not require a huge extension. The New York Times adds that the Mets "are not engaged in heavy discussions with the Twins."
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone dives into the situation, summing up recent events and providing some insight from a roundtable that included Ken Rosenthal, Dan Graziano, and Jim Duquette.
- Michael Silverman, with some help from Baseball America, evaluates each reported package of prospects that has been offered for Santana.
- An end may be in sight – the Twins lose leverage if teams truly start to pull out, writes Joe Christensen.
Yankees Still Involved On Santana
UPDATE, 1-14-08 at 10:28pm: Hank says "there’s still a little back and forth" between the Yanks and Twins regarding Santana. Ugh.
FROM 1-14-08 at 11:47am:
ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand reports that the Yankees have again pulled their offer for Johan Santana off the table. Hank Steinbrenner could certainly change his mind again, but it seems to be down to the Red Sox and Mets. And recent rumblings point to the Mets as the frontrunner.
The Yankees’ rotation currently shapes up as Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and probably Mike Mussina. Ian Kennedy will be nipping at Mussina’s heels in Spring Training, while Kei Igawa‘s status is unknown. Keep in mind that Chamberlain pitched only 116 innings in 2007, most of them in the minors. It would be surprising to see the Yankees take him past 150 innings this year. What are your thoughts on the current Yankees rotation, sans Johan?
Johan Santana Rumors
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.
Perrotto’s Latest: Sabathia, Varitek, Crede, Villone
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus checks in with his usual Sunday column. He’s got some new hot stove material to consider.
- Perrotto says the Indians are holding firm at an offer of four years plus an option for C.C. Sabathia. As of a week ago, the Indians were said to have an offer on the table for him. I suggested that the Tribe might top out around four years, $72MM plus an option for 2013.
- Perrotto writes that "Boston is expected to sign catcher Jason Varitek to a two-year extension worth around $20 million." Varitek could retire after that.
- Perrotto suggests that Joe Crede is on the Giants’ radar if they don’t re-sign Pedro Feliz (hat tip South Side Sox). Crede seems like he’ll be involved in one of those late Spring Training deals, given the need to prove his health.
- The Yankees, Mets, and Pirates are interested in free agent lefty reliever Ron Villone.