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Johan Santana

Johan Santana Rumors

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UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 7:30pm: Jon Heyman chimes in on the Santana talks.  If the Red Sox continue to keep Ellsbury out of the deal, the Yankees may have the best offer with Hughes, Cabrera, and another pitcher.  The inclusion of Ellsbury would swing it toward the Sox.  It appears the two rivals are battling going head to head on this one.

FROM 11-28-07 at 11:15am:

Let’s review the Johan Santana situation, because there’s been plenty flying around the last couple of days.

  • Yankees: Jon Heyman said yesterday the Twins would want Melky Cabrera plus one of Hughes/Chamberlain/Kennedy.  LaVelle E. Neal III confirmed the Yankees as one of three teams that have actually had trade talks with the Twins about Santana.  It’s been suggested that Santana would be open to signing a long-term deal in New York.  Aaron Gleeman analyzes Yankees/Santana scenarios here.  Also, Lisa Kennelly and Ed Price are saying Chamberlain and Robinson Cano are untouchable in these talks.  So think Melky and Hughes.  By the way, the Yankees let Aaron Rowand’s agent know that they’ll be interested if they trade the Melkman.
  • Red Sox: The Sox are another of those teams confirmed to have had trade talks about Santana with the Twins.  Heyman said it would take Buchholz or Lester plus Ellsbury.  The Sox want to substitiute Crisp for Ellsbury.  UPDATE: Neal says Jed Lowrie, Brandon Moss, and perhaps Kevin Youkilis have been discussed as well.
  • Angels: The third team confirmed to have had trade talks for Santana.  He’s not atop the Halos’ list though.  I suggested earlier that a package of Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart would work for the Twins, but seems too steep for one year of Santana.
  • Mets: The Mets have had talks with the Twins as well, according to Buster Olney.  It’s known that the Mets don’t want to include Jose Reyes or David Wright in a deal.  Makes sense.  Carlos Gomez, Fernando Martinez, Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey, and Kevin Mulvey are the other names being tossed around.  But John Harper’s source isn’t so sure Reyes it out of the question, as that might be the only way the Mets can get Santana.
  • Mariners: Larry LaRue says the Twins would want Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow, and Jeff Clement.
  • Dodgers:  Though they’ve been linked to Santana, he doesn’t seem to be on the frontburner.
  • Cubs: Long shot and first I’ve heard of it, but George King and Joel Sherman suggest the possibility.  Felix Pie would have to be involved.  Hard to see the Cubs signing Santana to a record-setting extension given their ownership situation.

Johan Demands Changed?

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In this post written at 11am today, I outlined the seven or so clubs with a shot at acquiring Twins ace Johan Santana.  However the acquisition of Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie from the Rays changes everything.

First, the loss of Matt Garza lessens the chances of trading Santana at least a little bit.  The Twins have pitching depth, but that’d be 40% of their 2007 rotation gone.  It was probably always the case, but it’s definite now that if the Twins trade Santana this winter they need a very good MLB-ready starter in return.

Second, the Twins no longer need any outfielders.  Sure, they could add another center fielder to be safe or even move Michael Cuddyer back to third base.  But in my mind third base becomes the primary need for the Twins. 

So now Bill Smith should be looking for an elite young hurler and a similar young third baseman.  The Yankees and Red Sox can’t offer that.  The Mets, Mariners, and Cubs don’t have it either.  The Angels might – Nick Adenhart and Brandon Wood.  The Dodgers could pull it off too, with Andy LaRoche and Chad Billingsley.  How about a wild card like the Reds?  They’ve got Homer Bailey and Edwin Encarnacion.  And I imagine the Twins would find a way to work Jay Bruce in if they could get him.   

Angels Interested In Johan Santana

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Hey, you can never have too much pitching right?  Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports that Johan Santana is on the Angels’ list.  They’re still all about Miguel Cabrera as Plan A and Miguel Tejada as Plan B, but they’ve inquired on Santana as well.  Jon Heyman actually mentioned the Halos as a Santana suitor yesterday afternoon, but it didn’t register with me.

DiGiovanna says the Twins would ask for a third baseman, center fielder, and pitcher for Santana.  Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart – is that too much?  Another hurdle might be getting Santana to approve a trade to the West Coast.

DiGiovanna adds that the Twins have interest in Gary Matthews Jr.  Could this be the mystery CF the Twins are close to acquiring?  Maybe not, since Matthews is expensive, old, and mediocre.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Nathan, Garza, Bedard

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Ken Rosenthal recently dished out a slew of fresh rumors for us to devour.

  • Rosenthal still believes that if the Twins trade Johan Santana, they will also trade Joe Nathan in a separate deal.  Back on November 11th, Rosenthal first suggested this might happen.  About a week ago, Joe Christensen reported that the Twins exchanged contract proposals with Nathan.  Nathan is in line to earn at least $15MM per season, if he wants full market value.  Rosenthal suggests the Brewers, Indians, Tigers, Cubs, and Red Sox as possible fits for Nathan.
  • The Angels may want to keep Gary Matthews Jr., given Vladimir Guerrero’s declining defensive abilities.  Also, Guerrero may soon get a contract extension in the $18MM per season range to put him in line with Torii Hunter.  His contract runs through 2009.
  • The Twins may be close to getting a center fielder, but it may not be Coco Crisp.  Another team is chasing Crisp – perhaps the White Sox? 
  • Melky Cabrera could be dealt independent and regardless of a Johan Santana deal.  The Braves may be interested; the Yanks would then move Johnny Damon back to center.
  • Matt Garza or Boof Bonser may be moved for a bat.  Probably not Delmon Young, but some young slugger.  The Rays also want to find a young shortstop to compete with Reid Brignac.
  • The Yanks don’t want to overpay for a free agent reliever – 3/12 seems their limit on the Riskes and Mahays of the world.
  • Back at the GM meetings, the Mets inquired on Erik Bedard.  The O’s are waiting to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera since they covet many of the prospects being discussed there. 

Heyman On Santana

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the latest on the Johan Santana trade talks.

  • The Twins want Melky Cabrera plus one of Chamberlain/Hughes/Kennedy from the Yankees.  If the Yanks can surrender Kennedy rather than Hughes or Joba, they’ve done a nice job.  Sounds like they would consider giving up Hughes though.
  • The Twins want one of Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester plus Jacoby Ellsbury.  Lester seems to be the only one of the three the Red Sox would part with, while they’d also be fine with sending Coco Crisp over.
  • Heyman names the Mets, Dodgers, Angels, and Mariners as interested parties.  First I’ve heard of the Ms or Halos being in the mix.  Regarding the Dodgers, check out an interview with Ned Colletti.  For what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem anxious to deal 3-5 kids for a guy like Santana or Miguel Cabrera.

Mets Interested In Santana, Dotel, Chacon

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The New York Post’s Mark Hale has an update for us regarding the Mets’ pursuit of pitching.

  • Even though the Wilpons haven’t made any declarations to the media, the Mets are showing interest in Johan Santana.  Hale notes a couple of stipulations: David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran won’t be dealt, and the Mets would want a 72-hour negotiation window.  I don’t think anyone expected anything different on either point.  The Twins could certainly use an influx of outfield talent, and the Mets have it.
  • Octavio Dotel is one free agent on the Mets’ radar, though we’ve known that since the 16th.  "On the radar" is getting overused…I need an alternative.  Dotel would be fine with a setup role, though I’m guessing it would take two years and $12MM or more.  Dotel came up through the Mets’ system as a starter, and was traded to the Astros in ’99 in the Mike Hampton/Derek Bell/Roger Cedeno deal.  The Tigers and Royals may also be in on Dotel.
  • The Mets also like Shawn Chacon, possibly as a swingman.  The Rockies have interest in Chacon but only as a reliever.  He’s said that he’d prefer to start. 

Yanks, Twins Discussing Santana

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As a rumor website I feel obligated to link to this.  The Yankees and Twins are talking about a Johan Santana trade, Hank Steinbrenner confirmed it.

This is a non-story; I don’t have much to add.  We have all known about these discussions for quite a while now.  It’s odd that Steinbrenner talked about them publicly; would Brian Cashman find that helpful at all?

My feeling is that if the Yankees can engineer a trade for Santana without surrendering Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, or Joba Chamberlain, they’ve pulled off a steal.

Heyman’s Latest: Piazza, Matthews, Milledge

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with a new Daily Scoop column full of rumors.

  • A lot of the standard trade talk we’ve seen regarding Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, Miguel Tejada, and Dan Haren.  All these guys require two good young players or more in a trade.
  • Mike Piazza is considering DHing in Japan if he doesn’t find anything he likes in the U.S. 
  • Heyman talked to an AL exec who speculated that the Angels may try to unload Gary Matthews Jr.  GMJ makes $9MM in ’08, $10MM in ’09, $11MM in ’10, and $12MM in ’11.  He currently has a full no-trade clause.
  • Juan Uribe and Vicente Padilla are two salary-dump types whose names have surfaced in recent trade talks (unrelated to each other).  Padilla is owed $24.75MM over the next two seasons.
  • Heyman believes the Mets are very willing to trade Lastings Milledge and have discussed him often.
  • We knew the Mets had discussed Ramon Hernandez and Gerald Laird.  Heyman adds the Nats’ Brian Schneider to the mix.  He makes $4.9MM in ’08 and another $4.9MM in ’09.

Odds and Ends: Santana, Hunter

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Let’s kick off the morning with some odds and ends, absent any earth-shattering rumors.  I’ll keep adding to this post.

  • Awesome inside look at the Torii Hunter deal via Bob Nightengale.  Hunter’s first choice outside of Minnesota was the Cardinals, but they weren’t interested.
  • Hunter – not overpaid?  So says J.C. Bradbury.
  • Still some confusion about Johan Santana’s no-trade clause.  Buster Olney says it’s full and doesn’t indicate that the rights change on any certain date.  Matthew Cerrone says it’s a full NTC only until Opening Day ’08, when it switches to 12 teams.  Those are not mutually exclusive comments, so I guess we’ll see.
  • Phil Rogers doesn’t think the Cubs will re-sign Kerry Wood.  He also sees the Giants in the lead for Miguel Cabrera now.
  • My coworker Jonathan makes a good point – thought the Sox wouldn’t give four-year deals to pitchers?  They made a huge fuss over Mark Buehrle.  Suddenly Scott Linebrink is worthy of breaking the rule again?  Some are skeptical.
  • Bobby Kielty typically smacks around left-handed pitching (Brian Fuentes for example).  He’ll hook on as some team’s fourth outfielder as a free agent.  He’d like to return to Boston, but that would require a Coco Crisp trade. Rob Bradford names the Twins, Braves, Rangers, and White Sox as possibilities otherwise. 

Morning Yankees Rumors

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Just a few things I found scouring the Internets this morning.

  • The team has finalized their marketing deal with Alex Rodriguez regarding his breaking of home run milestones. He’ll receive $6 million for reaching the home run totals of Willy Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds. And then he’ll get another $6 million for homer No. 763. Yes, that’s $12 million for two homers. The deal has been approved by MLBPA and the Commissioner’s office.
  • Peter Gammons, via Buster Olney, reports that the Twins will be seeking three players in any trade to the Yankees of Johan Santana: Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Austin Jackson. Olney thinks that when combined with the $150 million financial commitment that will come along with the deal, the Yankees will not do it. I’d personally not like to give up Jackson, a highly regarded prospect when drafted who just had a breakout season in 2007.
  • Steve Serby of the New York Post has a Q & A with Hank Steinbrenner. If you liked Hank before, you’ll like this. If you think he’s a braying ass, you’ll continue thinking the same.
  • Ian O’Connor thinks that Omar Minaya needs to steal the Yankees thunder and beat them to the punch for Johan Santana. Personally, I think that’s the worst reason to do anything.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

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