Read: Mets No Longer a Darkhorse for Santana
In his latest report for SI.com, Jon Heyman writes that the Mets may ‘actually be the favorite’ to acquire Johan Santana.
Heyman mentions the Yankees and Red Sox ‘restraint,’ and their “willingness to live without Santana,” along with the abundance of high-ceiling prospects the Mets could potentially send to the Twins, as the main reasons the Mets have moved to the front of the pack.
…it’s pretty much what we’ve been hearing and what Cerrone has been saying all along, in that the Mets are a favorite as long as the Yankees and Red Sox are not…
…ideally, the Mets would send their best offer to the Twins and say take it or leave it, in hopes they wouldn’t turn around to the Yankees and Sox and try to coax one final offer from them…realistically, the Mets giving that type of ultimatum would probably hold little weight and the Twins could easily ignore it…so, if the Yankees or Red Sox decide to swoop in at the last minute and trump the mets offer then that’s that…
…of course, none of that matters until the Twins make up their mind to accept one of the offers and then make the last round of phone calls (cue jeopardy music)…
Heyman also discusses how the Mets, as well as the Yankees and Red Sox, may approach Santana’s contract extension.
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
In a post to his blog for the Star-Tribune, La Velle E. Neal III adds that all three teams have been in contact with the Twins during the last few days.
“For now,” Neal writes, “The Twins have stepped up their efforts to make a deal with one of these teams before camp opens.”
