Daily Archives: December 5, 2007
Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire, regarding a potential trade involving Johan Santana, as quoted by the Jack Curry in the New York Times…
“We have to get people back that are going to help us in the major leagues. Everybody thinks that we’re just launching people. That’s not the case, or Santana would have been traded.”
…first off, that is clearly a jab at proposals from the Red Sox and Yankees, and the Mets, who have reportedly offered a collection of semi-proven talent for gardenhire’s ace…
…however, this remark from gardenhire is consistent with what i have been writing for the last two days, which is that, from what i can gather, the problem the Mets are having is not necessarily their upper-level prospects, all of whom actually hold fairly solid value on the trade market…the problem is that to acquire a player like santana, they’ll need to contribute an established hitter, who is young and under control, i.e., Jose Reyes or Ryan Church, not minor-
leaguers who are still in need of development, like gomez or martinez…the thing is, while most teams understand that David Wright and reyes are too much to give, church is not enough…
Of course, during an appearance on SNY’s Daily News Live, citing ‘two different sources,’ MLB Radio’s Seth Everett suggested that LHP Oliver Perez will need to be in the deal,’ because New York’s offer, as of now, ‘is not enough.’
…so, perez certainly counts as a person who can help the Twins this coming season, as gardenhire believes he’ll need…plus, perez is lefty, like santana…the thing is, perez will be a free agent after next season, so it’s hard to imagine the Twins wanting to acquire him, knowing he can just walk away in a year…
Tagged Oliver Perez |Earlier in the day, WFAN’s Sweeny Murti broke down a rumor that suggested the Mets could acquire LHP Dontrelle Willis from 
the Tigers, as well as C Ivan Rodriguez and his $13 million salary.
However, at his blog for Booth Newspapers, Tigers beat reporter Danny Knobler debunks the idea, by writing…
“While they were negotiating…with Florida, it appears that the Tigers did briefly consider turning it into a three-way deal in which Willis would go to the Mets, possibly with Pudge Rodriguez…The Mets love Willis, and in fact had tried to get him from the Marlins themselves…But it’s barely worth talking about now, because it’s not happening, and the Mets know it.”
…from what i can gather, while the Tigers most certainly would have requested a pretty significant package from the Mets, RHP Aaron Heilman was the only player from the Mets to be discussed with detroit, though i would guess C Johnny Estrada may have been involved eventually as well…
Nevertheless, Knobler quotes a Mets official as saying, “There’s no turning back now for them. If anything was going to be done, it had to be done before (the trade became public). They’ve energized their fan base now. They can’t go back.”
…well, hats off to omar, because, from what he told reporters, the Marlins were never going to trade dontrelle to a team within their division…so, to listen, while trying to sneak him to queens, back to the NL East, behind their backs, is either really shady, or really clever, or both, i suppose…
…by the way, thanks to bad boyz for the link…
Jim Molony of MLB.com writes that the Mets have interest in Marlins IF-OF Alfredo Amezaga.
In 133 games with the Marlins last season, Amezaga batted .263 with two homers and 30 RBI, while stealing 13 bases.
Amezaga is arbitration-eligible for the 2008 season.
…he would add some more flexibility, as he is a switch-hitter who plays nearly every position on the diamond…not to mention that he has one of my favorite names in baseball…
Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Red Sox have ‘reaffirmed their status’ as the favorites to acquire Johan Santana,’ despite the parameters of the trade not changing.
…so by not changing their offer they ‘reaffirmed their status’ as favorites…umm, ok…
Brown goes on to mention the Mariners, writing…
‘Seattle briefly emerged as a candidate, center fielder Adam Jones and pitcher Brandon Morrow the main chips in the Mariners’ offer, but talks there have stagnated, as they did with the Los Angeles Angels.’
…i’m not really buying into the Mariners as a serious candidate for santana right now, but it should be noted the Mets were not mentioned by brown at all…
In a quick update to his blog for the Star-Tribune, Minnesota columnist La Velle E. Neal III categorizes the 
following teams, with regards to their level of involvement with the Twins over Johan Santana:
- Mets: Interested
- Yankees: Still interested
- Angels: Not Interested, but have talked to Twins about other players. Twins keep hearing that the Angels MIGHT change their minds on Santana.
- Boston: Still interested
- Texas: Interested, but would Santana go there?
- Seattle: Interested, but would Santana go there?
…by the way, La Velle E. Neal III has got to be one of the greatest names in baseball…well done, ma and pa neil…
…so, if you scroll down and read through the previous posts, you’ll conclude, like me, that a scenario could exist in which the Mets trade a collection of prospects, as well as Oliver Perez, and 
end up with Johan Santana, Dontrelle Willis and Ivan Rodriguez along with his $13 million dollar contract …
…yes, this feels like fantasy baseball talk…i agree…however, for fun’s sake, if there is any realistic way for this to all happen, and i doubt that there is, i would be all for it…
…by the way, speaking of insanity, keep reading…
According to the New York Post, both A’s GM Billy Beane and Mets GM Omar Minaya denied this rumor, which linked their teams and the Twins to a deal involving Johan Santana, Dan Haren and Jose Reyes.
Beane, as quoted by the Post’s Joel Sherman…
“I rarely comment on trades publicly, but let me comment on this one: It is an absolute, total fabrication.”
…i am officially embarrassed for the blogosphere, that beane and minaya had to actually answer that question…eek…
Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins, as quoted by SNY, during today’s Winter Meetings in Nashville…
“We picked up Brad Lidge, which is great…the dude has got some good stuff…Hopeful he comes here, and the fans treat him well, and he gets back to being Brad Lidge that we’ve seen in the past, and we’ll win 100 games. 100 games will get us to the playoffs…I don’t plan on giving up that title as NL East Champions.”
…well, this hurts to say, but, the fact is, he has every right to talk…he talked a ton last spring, his team won the division and he won the league’s MVP…so, spout off, jimmy…though you may wanna quit while you’re ahead…
Tagged Phillies |
According to Jon Heyman, in an update to SI.com, the Twins will listen to offers from the Mets that do not include SS Jose Reyes.
However, during an appearance on SNY’s Daily News Live, citing ‘two different sources,’ MLB Radio’s Seth Everett says that LHP Oliver Perez will need to be in the deal,’ because New York’s offer, as of now, ‘is not enough.’
Mets GM Omar Minaya, as quoted by Heyman…
“Do we have the players? Yes, we have the players. If you’re going to get an elite player, you’re going to have to give two or three [good prospects]. Do we have two or three? Yes, I believe we do.”
The Twins are expecting to get two offers from two teams tonight, writes Heyman, citing ‘a source close to the Twins.’
…the buzz from Nashville seems to be that the offers will come from the Mets and from the Mariners, who will likely offer up OF Adam Jones and RHP Brandon Morrow…
…the thing is, it’s unclear whether santana will accept a trade to seattle, while we know he’d love to be in new york…
Heyman concludes by writing…
“In any case, the Mets see an opening now. It may be a small opening, but it is one they will not pass up.”
…as has been speculated about in a million different places, as well as here, it’s quite clear at this point that santana will not be traded during these meetings, which end tomorrow afternoon…however, it’s also clear that the Mets have a pulse in these negotiations, which is more than enough for me, as i was ready to bury this story just 24 hours ago…
Tagged Oliver Perez |Mets manager Willie Randolph talked with reporters today while at the Winter Meetings in Nashville.
To read a transcript, during which he talks about Duaner Sanchez, Ryan Church, Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez, while talking about last season and next season, and the importance of getting off to a good start, go to SNY, who will run the interview on-air during SNY’s SportsNite at 11 pm.
Randolph, on Jose Reyes, while talking to reporters…
Tagged Willie Randolph |
“I’ve reached out to him a few times. A lot of guys in the offseason, I stay in touch with them. Play a lot of phone tag. But, yeah, it was just a slump at the wrong time. That’s just what it boils down to…Jose ran into probably the biggest slump of his life at the wrong time…And that’s how difficult it is to hit in the game, it’s not easy. And he just couldn’t find the rhythm and confidence to get back into his groove…So if anyone learned a lesson last year, it was him and how to deal with that adversity and how to make adjustments in the future.
“I think he’ll be fine. I don’t think it will affect him…I don’t think that he’s going to let that, you know, bother him in any way…I think he’ll be more determined next year and feel better about having gone through the experience, because he’ll know better how to deal with it now…But again, like I said, it came at the wrong time because he wanted to get the job done for us. There wasn’t a guy on our team that didn’t want to finish up strong and win. But again, that just shows how difficult the game is at times, because even the great players sometimes can’t find the handle.”
Speaking with WFAN, beat reporter Sweeny Murti said…
“Omar Minaya said he inquired about Dontrelle Willis, but the Marlins were not going to deal him within the division.
“However, the Tigers have explored the idea of spinning him off, and they have contacted the Mets. There wasn’t an official offer presented to Omar, but what was talked about, from what I was told, they talked about spinning off Willis. In addition, though, the Mets would have to take on some salary. The Tigers are interested, perhaps, in moving Willis and Ivan Rodriguez and dumping his salary, which is $13 million next season. So, if the Mets wanted Willis from Detroit, they’d have to take on that salary. The thing is, he has a no trade clause, so to get him to waive it you’d probably have to give him another year.”
…if you recall, the talk early in the off-season had been that omar was hoping pudge hit the open market, instead of getting his option picked up by the Tigers, because he would have been the team’s first choice to replace Paul Lo Duca…instead, though, the option was picked up, and Plan B through Z were pursued…
To listen to Murti’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.
← Older posts
