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Johan Santana Rumors

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I know some of you crave daily Johan Santana updates…today we’ve got a blurb from Charley Walters:

The Twins say they’re not panicking while holding out for the best deal for Johan Santana. But word within baseball circles is that offers by the New York Yankees (no more Phil Hughes) and Boston Red Sox are diminishing by the week. Best bet now for a trade of the two-time Cy Young Award winner appears to be with the New York Mets in a deal that would not include fast-rising hitter Fernando Martinez.

Yikes – from those solid Yankee/Red Sox offers to a Martinez-less Mets package?  If that happens then I would say Bill Smith overplayed his hand.  Kat O’Brien recently talked to Smith, but wasn’t able to get much out of him.  She believes the Yanks, Red Sox, and Mets "all retain some interest."

Odds and Ends: Hinske, Doumit, Colon, Greene

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It’s up to an impressive 5.7 degrees where I am, but I still don’t think I’ll be going outside much today.  Hence, some odds and ends.

  • Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald believes Eric Hinske might sign with the Diamondbacks this week.  The 30 year-old former ROY has a career line of .255/.336/.434, with much better work against righties.
  • John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox are interested in the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit.  However Perrotto says the Bucs are reluctant to trade the versatile Doumit, who turns 27 in April.  Only past Doumit rumor I can find was from Will Carroll in May of ’06, saying he and Oliver Perez were being dangled to the Phillies.
  • Perrotto believes the Royals could sign Bartolo Colon if he’ll take a one-year deal; that may be true for several clubs.  Paul Hoynes reports that the Indians watched Colon pitch, but weren’t impressed with his sub-90 velocity.  Hoynes says Kris Benson will have another throwing session and the Tribe will be in attendance.
  • According to Marc Topkin, the Rays are talking with lefty reliever Trever Miller.  The two sides haven’t agreed on the term yet.
  • Padres GM Kevin Towers commented about the team’s rejected long-term overtures toward shortstop Khalil Greene.  Towers brought a three or four year proposal to Greene but does not expect anything to get done.  He stated Greene’s possible desire to be on the East Coast as a factor.
  • Vince Gennaro does an economic analysis of the Johan Santana rumors, indicating that the acquisition makes the most sense for the Mets.

Odds and Ends: Gregg, Howard, Shingo, Valentin, Ankiel

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Some loose ends and links from today…

Fernando Martinez May Be Key To Santana Deal

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Nothing groundbreaking here, but Ken Davidoff spoke to "an industry offical familiar with Minnesota’s trade discussions," who believes the inclusion of young outfielder Fernando Martinez could close the Johan Santana deal for the Mets.  Davidoff notes that some combination of Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey would have to be in there too.  Perhaps the sides will ultimately agree on Martinez and all the rest except for Gomez.

The Yankees and Red Sox remain in the mix, though the Yanks seem ready to move on.

Twins Intrigued With Mets’ Johan Offer?

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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?

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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

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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.

Mayo On Fernando Martinez and Johan Santana

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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

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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?

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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.

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