Daily Archives: January 10, 2008
In a post to the great Phillies blog Beer Leaguer, Phillies 
fan Jason Weitzel writes…
“There’s no way to sugarcoat the strong possibility that Santana, the top prize, will be a Met next season, and possibly the next six. He would swing the balance of division power back over to the Mets. Head-to-head, it would be a nightmare. Maybe I’ll take up gardening this summer. Or woodworking. Have a nice day. It’s been real.”
…oh, man, that’s rich…i encourage you to read the reader comments that follow jason’s post…
…i’m getting excited, and i don’t want to be…at least not yet…
Tagged Phillies |At his blog, AaronGleeman.com, well-respected writer and Twins fan Aaron Gleeman has the following to say about potentially trading Johan Santana…
“Monday in this space I discussed the strength of a Phil Hughes-led offer from the Yankees, but a Mets package that includes Martinez, Guerra, Gomez, and Mulvey would blow that out of the water.”
Gleeman also writes for The Hardball Times and Rotoworld.com, among other noteworthy websites
…thanks to Peter Wade for the link…
Martinez, Guerra, Gomez, Mulvey and Humber are among the top seven prospects in the Mets farm-system, according to Baseball America, who writes…
Tagged Minors, Philip Humber |“Minaya says Martinez is on the same track as players such as Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa, all of whom reached the majors by age 20…His bat ultimately will be his
calling card, and the Mets see him as a future 30-homer threat…
“Guerra’s fastball had below-average velocity for most of his first season, but now it ranges from 89-94 mph and touches 96…The Mets have monitored Guerra’s workload carefully, and he has plenty of projection in his big-shouldered frame. His next goal will be to stay healthy and pass the 100-inning level…
“Mulvey throws four pitches for strikes and keeps everything down…His competitiveness makes his whole greater than the sum of his parts…He projects as a No. 3 or 4 starter…
“Humber still has the best curveball in the organization…He’s still refining his command…He now projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter.”
According to Kyodo News, free-agent RHP Akinori Otsuka announced on his blog that he will have elbow surgery.
The Rangers cut Otsuka during December, making him a free agent.
In 236 career relief appearances for Texas and San Diego, Otsuka had a 2.44 ERA while striking out 217 batters through 232 innings pitched.
He finished with an ERA under 3.00 during three of his four major-league seasons.
According to a person with knowledge of the 
negotiations, Fred Wilpon is willing to meet Johan Santana’s contract demands, writes Joe Christensen at his blog for the Star-Tribune.
…as i had written before, the sticking point for most teams has been the length of the contract, specifically because of insurance…
Christensen continues by writing…
“If Minaya swings the trade, as I wrote about today, Wilpon is confident he’ll get Santana signed. In the Mets’ camp, there is a belief that the price for Santana won’t be quite as high as advertised. Santana might ask for a six-year, $150 million extension, but there’s a belief teams could negotiate down from there.”
…well, like i have been saying, according to people close to him, santana prefers to pitch for the Mets and may be willing to work with them so a deal can get done…
This morning, Christensen wrote that the Mets can land Santana if they add Fernando Martinez to their current offer of Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber
…my initial fear was that this report by christensen would motivate the Yankees…however, from what i can gather, the Mets are the only team that is truly being proactive in these negotiations…which is why the Mets are reluctant to part with martinez…and which is why the Twins will ask for him…
…i keep hearing fans and media say the Mets should retain martinez because they may be bidding against themselves…the thing is, the Twins do not have to trade santana today…or so they’ll say…by dragging their feet, the Twins can hold up the Mets from making other moves, such as inquiring about Joe Blanton or pursuing Bartolo Colon, etc, all of which could easily be unavailable to them in a few weeks…
…so, the Twins do have leverage in the sense that if the Mets want santana, and if santana wants the Mets, they can insist that martinez be included…sure, the Mets can wait and remain patient, and keep martinez out of the package, but who knows what will or will not happen in the meantime…
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Astros have signed free-agent OF Victor Diaz to minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
…if the Mets can acquire Johan Santana, but also keep Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman, as well as Brant 
Rustich and Eddie Kunz, as the previous posts suggest, i’ll be happy…plus, don’t forget, the Mets have three picks during the first round-and-a-half of the draft in June…
…as i have written over and over again during this off-season, if the Mets do not think pelfrey and Phil Humber can develop in to a pitcher like santana, then they must pull the trigger on a trade with the Twins - since the Mets will always be able to sign a back-end starter on the open market…
…yes, peeling a layer off of this team’s minor-league system will hurt at first, and i’m sure i will squirm a bit, but if it is the only way to bring on an ace, to couple with John Maine and Oliver Perez, well, so be it…
…sure, i would love to keep fernando for obvious reasons…but, those same reasons are exactly why the Twins want him as well…from what i can gather, out of the young bunch, he is as close to an untouchable as the Mets have…the thing is, as serious of a prospect as he may be, he’s just a prospect…he isn’t Jose Reyes or David Wright, who are truly untouchable because they have proven themselves at the major-league level…fernando has not…he’s still an unknown, to some extent…
…ordinarily i would advise against trading so many young players, especially a potential star like martinez…but, the Mets are never going to sign an ace on the open market…it isn’t going to happen…too many teams are locking up their own talent on long-term extensions…in the last few years i had hoped the Mets could sign Roy Oswalt, Jake Peavy, Carlos Zambrano and others…the thing is, those guys never even hit the market…they all re-signed…and this trend will continue to happen because the game is so wealthy and pitching is in high demand…unlike a few years ago teams can now afford to keep their own players…so, while i may pretend that CC Sabathia will eventually wear a Mets uniform, odds are he’ll end up re-signing with his current team, just like oswalt, peavy and zambrano…
…it is super important for this team to have a young, dominant ace for at least the next few seasons, and for the debut of Citi Field…and, as best i can tell, the only way it is going to happen for certain is if the Mets acquire santana right now…otherwise, i fear we will go through this same desperate charade next off-season, and the one after that, and the one after that…
…in other words, i want fernando…but, i also want an ace…and last i checked, unfortunately, fernando isn’t a pitcher…
[poll=39]
Tagged Poll |In a recent report for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal writes that a trade between the O’s and M’s involving LHP Erik Bedard ‘is only one player away from competition.’
The deal is likely to include M’s OF Adam 
Jones, among other minor leaguers, explains Rosenthal.
According to the report, the Mariners have also checked in with the A’s about RHP Joe Blanton, ‘but the A’s would insist upon Jones and the Mariners might not be willing to trade their top position prospect within the division.’
…from what i can gather out of oakland, while the Mets have expressed interest in blanton, the A’s hope to acquire more than the Mets will offer…and so, yes, the Mets have a shot at blanton, but they’ll need oakland’s other options to run dry, at which point the A’s may just look to trade him during the summer instead…
Rosenthal also gives an update on free-agent OFs Mike Cameron and Luis Gonzalez.
Free-agent RHP Bartolo Colon has missed 
his last two starts while pitching in the Dominican Winter League.
However, according to Impactico Deportivo, Colon is scheduled to pitch today.
…hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors for the link…
According to the Daily News, Hank Steinbrenner said he is ‘leaning away’ from trading for Johan Santana.
Multiple reports over the last few weeks have written that while Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner have been against acquiring Santana, Hank Steinbrenner had been on the fence.
The thing is, as noted yesterday by Peter Abraham at his blog for the Journal News, Hank and Hal have equal power – despite Hank’s overt presence in the media.
Steinbrenner, as quoted by the Daily News…
“I’m growing more and more comfortable with what we have, and the veteran players I’ve talked to seem to be pretty comfortable with what we have. But we’ll see what happens.”
…additionally, the buzz from boston suggests that the Red Sox continue to explore a deal that will bring them a significant set-up man, which will likely cost them one of the players needed to get santana…initially, i assumed they would target A’s RHP Huston Street, while using Coco Crisp, who Billy Beane is quite fond of, according to Peter Gammons…however, and this is total speculation, but i wonder if all the talk between the Red Sox and Twins is more about Joe Nathan than santana…just a thought…
Tagged Johan Santana Trade Mets Yankees, Yankees |
