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.
Neal On Johan Santana Talks
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.
Mets In Lead For Santana, Yanks Out?
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.
Odds and Ends: Morneau, Jocketty, Santana
Your usual dose of random rumors and links…
- Justin Morneau says he has had no extension discussions with the Twins.
- The Reds brought Walt Jocketty aboard as a special advisor to President and CEO Bob Castellini today. For now, Wayne Krivsky’s job appears safe. But jeez, with Walt in the house he has to be feeling a little pressure, doesn’t he? In other news, the Reds talked with Brett Tomko‘s agent this week.
- The Tigers signed Matt Mantei for the league minimum. He can ask for his release if he’s not in the bigs by May 1st. As Jon Paul Morosi notes Mantei hasn’t pitched in the Majors for more than two years.
- RotoAuthority ranks the third basemen for fantasy baseball.
- Buster Olney says the A’s talks with the Braves for Mark Kotsay "have a chance of becoming serious today."
- Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey has a source who believes the Mets will get Johan Santana "no matter what they have to do."
- The Rangers made the Eddie Guardado deal official, and also brought Jamey Wright back on a minor league contract. Guardado got a bit more than I expected – $2MM base plus $4MM in incentives for games pitched and finished.
Olney: Mets Backed Off On Colon
Buster Olney has a note about the Mets and Bartolo Colon in today’s blog:
Heard Thursday that Colon on the verge of signing with the Mets last week, but the Mets backed off after taking a closer look at the condition of his right arm.
This jives with the info we’ve seen previously, that Colon hasn’t topped 90 mph in the Dominican Winter League. Many teams have seen his medical reports, but he remains unsigned. On December 4th, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson said the Nationals believed Colon would not accept a one-year deal.
Mets May Have Top Santana Offer; Yanks Backing Off?
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?
Odds and Ends: Reyes vs. Ramirez, Blanton, Colon
Let’s round up some random links for today…
- This is one of the more impressive rants I’ve heard. Seems that he lost his cool or something.
- Fantasy baseball shortstop smackdown: Jose Reyes vs. Hanley Ramirez.
- Ken Rosenthal says the Mariners inquired on Joe Blanton, but weren’t willing to trade Adam Jones within the division.
- Bartolo Colon is back in action for two more starts.
Mets Still Like Joe Blanton
Peter Botte of the New York Daily News says the Mets have asked Billy Beane to "keep them in mind" as he’s shopping Joe Blanton. Blanton could be their fallback plan for Johan Santana. Botte says the Twinsa are still hung up on Jose Reyes, though La Velle E. Neal III heard otherwise.
On December 20th, Buster Olney said a package of Carlos Gomez, Aaron Heilman, and Kevin Mulvey would probably net Blanton for the Mets.
If the Mets can’t get Santana or Blanton, they may move on to free agent targets such as Kyle Lohse, Livan Hernandez, Jon Lieber, Freddy Garcia, or Matt Morris. Botte does not mention Bartolo Colon as a free agent on the Mets’ radar.