Buzz: Santana, Extension, Major-League Talent
In the Star-Tribune, columnist Sid Hartman writes that, while the Yankees and Mets have ruled out signing Johan Santana to a seven-year deal if he’s traded, there is still hope that the Twins could work out an extension of their own.
However, in a different report for the Star-
Tribune, citing a ‘Twins official,’ La Velle E Neal III writes that there have been no recent contract talks between the Twins and Santana.
Neal explains that the Twins are hesitant to trade Santana for what they perceive to be 20 cents on the dollar, adding…
“Peter Greenberg, Santana’s agent, admitted during a telephone conversation this week that he will need to discuss strategy with Santana soon on how to handle things if he is forced to report to camp with the Twins…What Greenberg wouldn’t address is if Santana will refuse to waive his no-trade clause once he reports, but that possibility surely exists. It’s unclear if the Twins have been told that yet – but it appears that they have stepped up their efforts to make a deal happen before camp begins.”
…which is exactly what i mean when i write that santana is in the diver’s seat, to some extent…as i have said before, from what i can gather out of people connected to santana, he prefers to play for the Mets, then for the Red Sox, then for the Yankees…
…the thing is, just how much is he willing to shake minnesota’s cage to make a deal go down…this quote from greenberg suggests we may soon find out…
Neal breaks down what Minnesota can expect to get from the Red Sox and Yankees, while the Mets and Twins have talked about adding another player to the deal, “such as Aaron Heilman.”
In yesterday’s Boston Herald, citing ‘indications,’ Michael Silverman wrote that Ryan Church could be included in a potential deal as well.
By the way, according to Hartman, “The Mets never have given a player more than a five-year contract, and they would be averse to changing that policy.”
…ummm, the Mets signed Carlos Beltran and Mike Piazza to seven-year deals, plus signed a six-year pact with David Wright…i’m guessing that hartman meant to peg that to only pitchers…which would be correct…
…as i have said, the sense i get is that the Mets are against giving more than a five-year deal to any pitcher, as are the Yankees, mostly because of insurance issues…the thing is, when santana says seven years, what are we talking about…i mean, he’s under contract next season, if he is then given five and an option, plus a signing bonus, that could be the seven-year deal he is seeking…i wonder if that is good enough…
