The Mets, Red Sox and Yankees all confirm that during the last two days the Twins have stepped up their effort to trade Johan Santana, writes Joel Sherman in the New York Post.
According to Sherman, it has come down to a battle between the 
Mets and Red Sox.
Of course, in a post to his blog for the Boston Herald today, Sox columnist Michael Silverman writes…
“By all accounts, the Red Sox will not shed any tears if the Mets get Santana and the Sox can keep their young talent, maintain payroll and avoid seeing Santana in pinstripes.”
Meanwhile, the O’s appeared quite close to trading Erik Bedard to the Mariners, but may have changed their mind.
For more, go to MLB Trade Rumors, who has been doing an outstanding job, as usual, following the negotiations step by step.
In the Daily News, Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron explain how the Bedard deal might make it harder for the Mets to pry Santana from Minnesota.
…i understand, but the O’s should get more for bedard than the Twins will get for santana, the same way the A’s should have and did get more for Dan Haren…i mean, bedard is under contract for two more seasons, while santana is such after one – plus he has a no trade and can essentially dictate when and where he goes…
According to Madden and McCarron, several baseball officials believe the Mets will get Santana, “But they might have to ‘flood the deal’ with players to satisfy the Twins in the wake of the likely Bedard trade.”
…first off, they’ll pay what they have to pay…and, again, if santana forces the issue, the Twins will take what they can get…second, and more importantly, Madden and McCarron’s sounds like it’d be a great steak house…
Nevertheless, Sherman quotes an official from one team involved as saying, “The Mets are legitimately in this. It would be a mistake to minimize their chances.”
Lastly, a Sox official tells the Boston Globe that he would not be surprised if the Twins end up making a deal this week.
Last night on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove Report, host Kevin Burkhardt talked about the Santana Situation with Adam Rubin of the Daily News and Ed Coleman from WFAN.
To watch the discussion, go to 
{ 51 comments }
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Easy, Herman.
Not sure how I feel about all these “officials” thinking the Mets will wind up with Santana
Makes me nervous as a Mets fan
I can’t stop myself from checking this site every 5 mins!
I know, our work logs the sites you visit and sends a report at the end of the day. 8 hour shift, 8 1/2 hours logged onto Metsblog yesturday!
Geez, who do you work for, the Kremlin?
Haha, nah, it’s more of a self reflection thing, they want us to see what we have done for the day so we can see for ourselves if we are slackers or not!
But what if you log into a site, minimize the browser and work on something else throughout the day? Does the monitoring system log that you spent 8 hours on that site, even if you were doing something else for most of that time?
yeah, it does, so thats why it says 8 1/2 hours, Im sure they know I wasn’t actually sitting here for 8 1/2 hours on the same page :) more like an hour of time actually on the site, refreshing constantly!
I actually sit here for the full 8 hours of my work day and stare at the screen hitting refresh. I haven’t gotten any work done in months. I work for an attorney and they are getting sued up the wazoo for legal malpractice.
Rinse.. Lather… Repeat…
And the Sox are close with Santana.. and the Yanks are close to Santana.. and now the Mets are front runners…
More testing going on here then when show girls is running on VH1
I don’t know what I am going to do when this whole thing finally ends. I look forward to my “morning Santana” everyday…..
This site and others will likely take a massive blow in hits per day when this whole Santana things is settled. I think I refresh/check this site and others like it, roughly 50-70 times a day
Pfft, 50-70 times. Rookie. I think I’ve hit that mark since I got to work at 8am.
well head to head i think our offer is better then boston. but who knows anymore. its a wait and see game now. all i know is if boston is truly in it, then the skanks are to, no matter what the reports are.
go get him omar… keep f-mart, and we have a steal.
wait 5 prospects and 150 mil, and its a steal?? WOW!
today’s the day, lads
buckle up!
i’ve been buckled up for weeks…please just stop the car already…. I just hope Johan gets in when we do.
Wake me when its FINALLY done, be it with the Mets or somebody else. I’m getting ulcers here everyday for the love of pete. (or pedro)
god i think i am gonna puke…that GM Smith really botched this…he’s not gonna get anything he couldn’t have gotten 2 months ago and spared us all the aggravation…
i’d rather have livan anyway… cheap, reliable, and we can keep the farm intact.
yea id rather not get the best pitcher in baseball for unproven prospects..instead get already peaked over-weight so-called innings eater in which he cleary likes to eat alot but throws batting practice every 5 days. Yea i dont really want to pay a salary that will be a market value in a few years for the best pitcher in baseball that will make our team instantly better….yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaa
me neither
Agreed. I would only make a move for Santana if it could be done without involving any of Gomez, MArtinez and Guerra. It might be impossible and people will say that its not even a real offer, but so be it. Thats ok with me. Even if we picked up santana without giving up any of those “big 3″, I still wouldnt even consider giving him a 7 year deal. Most gaurunteed years I would offer is 5. If 7 years was a deal breaker to make a trade final once we got the negotiating window, and he wouldnt sign for 5, I would pull the plug. There is a more then fair chance that Johan even in 4 years wont be the same Johan he is right now. If he really wants to play for the Mets so bad as we have heard (which I still say is bull), then he could Kobe Bryant the Twins into making them trade him here and making his wishes to play here known publically. He could also veto a deal where he though Bill Smith was getting too many parts like Kobe did. Just remember one thing. Be careful what you wish for, because with a trade like this one comes incredible risk.
Your clearly in the minority, my friend. CLEARLY.
with incredible risk comes incredible reward…..
I just don’t see Johan going down the same path as Kevin Brown or Bartolo Colon….rather I see him at a very similar point in his career like pedro was when he signed long-term in the Sox….and he was Dominant in the AL East of all places for 5 years straight. I just don’t mind giving up on unproven prospects who may or may not pan out when in return you get the BEST pitcher in baseball and will continue to be so in the NL.
Pitching wins championships…just ask the Sox and Marlins and Dbacks.
Right but offering 5 years with an option is really seven years if he gets traded now, since that contract won’t start until ‘09. So I don’t see why he wouldn’t agree to that. Of course there’s a risk, but if we keep either Gomez or Martinez I still think it’s a good deal. I’d like to keep one of Mulvey or Guerra as well, but again, what are the odds they become anywhere close to being as good as Santana. So there’s risk in keeping all of these players as well, risk that they may turn out to be mediocre.
ANY PLAYER ANYONE SIGNS IS A RISK!!!! Stop already with the signing Johan for 7 years is a risk, ANY player can break down at ANY given time.
4 years of dominant Santana gives us 4 years of tremendous frontline pitching (Santana, Maine, Perez).. That in turn, gives us 4 years of serious contention for the World Series in the weak NL .
Even if we only win ONE World Series it will be worth it. We haven’t won one in 21 years and there’s no hope of winning one in the foreseeable future with Boston, Detroit and Yankees continuing to stockpile their rosters…
Wow. I can safely say I am glad you are not running the mets..
By the way.. in the 2008 BA Handbook.. they always list the mets projected lineup a few years down the road, assuming all prospects and contracts are honored..
Guerra is listed as our 4th starter in 2011.. yes.. you heard me.. our 4th starter in 2011…
So save me this big 3 nonesense…
If Guerra becomes a a 3-5 pitcher, Gomez a Juan Pierre type.. and F-mart becauses a 20-30 HR corner OF.. and we get 6 years of the best pitcher in baseball.. I’m really not going to complain..
Do you hear one complaint in Boston about good Hanley Ramirez is???
Thank you
Sure Johan could do that, but he has principles. He’s not going to leave the team or the city in that manner. If the Mets land this guy, they are getting another Pedro. This time in his prime.
While I agree 7 years would be too much, I think with the Greenbergs involved it can get worked out. There’s risk with every pitcher, so should we never sign an ace who deserves big money?
Omar better make this happen, and barring injuries, we are in the WS race for 2008. And even trading some prospects we have plenty of young talent already at the major league level, plenty of dollars, and a decent and improving minor league system. The future isn’t mortgage with this trade.
Johan better be in Queens by week end!
I’m going crazy
The Twins are looking to deal Johan Santana ??? Wow !
I’m so happy I could dance! Look out Phillies, you’re not stopping us this time!
Could you imagine if the Mets and Giants pulled off two of the biggest upsets in NY sports history in the same week:
Giants defeat Pats
Mets get Santana
You boys need to calm down. If the Mets don’t get Santana, I fear that half the Mets fanbase would attempt suicide based on some of the comments I’ve read in here.
santana is def. worth what were offering. i think that we have more to offer than boston and gives us an edge in a front line free agent thats actually WORTH it. if we dont end up with him this could be a tough year of hit or miss oliver perez and pedro still a slight question mark. i dont want to see a bidding war for sabathia next year when we can get the best pitcher in baseball NOW. what a way to open citi field in ‘09 w.santana as the opening day starter…one day at a time and patience my friends
I have had a debate with friends in the recent past on structuring contracts being frontloaded versus backloaded. 50% think it makes more sense to backload allowing more $$ right now to sign better players to compete right now. The other 50% see it differently…that you should pay more for the expected better results now and down the line…should you choose to trade the player..he is more attractive to others if his deal is small comparatively speaking.
Lets use our pursuit and hopefully attainment of Johan Santana
Next yr he is signed for like $10M I think
If we do a 6 yr deal worth $132M (avgs $22M per for 6), Does it make more sense to have the first 3 years at $30M…when his production is at an all time high and then the last 3 years at $14M per (when his production is likely less) or does it make more senses to flip that and do the first 3 years at $14M then the last 3 at $30M?
I tend to fall into the camp that prefers the deal frontloaded without a no trade clause. Provides the team more options in the second half of the deal. Can trade the player to restock the system due to the better contract comparable to the market price and if you want to keep the player…it makes the value of his pay rate closer to his likely production level which allows you to them sign the next big time player to another frontloaded deal.
Thoughts guys?
my thoughts are i wish me and my friends had intelligent conversations like that. But i agree with you that a player should be paid for their services rendered when they are rendered (ie frontloaded)
How many times do you have to be burned before you wise up.
The mets are always the front-runners to make a big move (Vlad Guerrero, Barry Zito, etc.) before another team sweeps in out of nowhere and makes a move to get their man, leaving the Mets alone at the alter.
I know Santana has a no trade clause, but I am sure that if some other competitive team like the Cubs, Dodgers, Angels were to make an offer and pay the $150 million Johan will take it.
The Mets should changetheir name to the NY Bait.
pedro, beltran, wagner. jeeze, you can’t sign everybody, and sure vlad would’ve been nice, but zito? who wanted him at those dollars?
you’re right, if one of those other teams was in the fight we just might lose out, but they don’t seem to be in it. if omar wants a crack at the world series for the next couple years, he better make this happen. he shouldn’t be worrying about a future he won’t have with those prospects if he fails now.
you always looked bitter on your baseball cards mr vail.
I just can’t get worked up on pure speculation. I’ve been down that road far too ofter with this team. More often than not they do not pull off the big deal.
Guarantee you by spring training Johan is not in PSL.
This all changed with Beltran..
But Omar is unwilling to make a strong offer.. then I agree this could be the case.. and they will have no one to blame but ourselves..
Either we want him.. or we don’t
Mets have to make this move regardless.
Hopefully Omar realizes there is now NO competition and the Twins end up with Gomez and not Fernando. To give up Fernando + 4 players would be a disaster since the Red Sox, at best, will give up Cocoa Crisp and 3 maybes.
Get ‘er done, already.
But I feel they are just prospects, all hype…I remember this young outfielder who was the next Griffey. And it turned out to be Jay Payton….no thanks…
Santana is the ace of all aces…In the NL, he’ll have monster numbers – I’m tired of waiting and I need a reason to pay the met increase in ticket prices…
How disingenuos is it to state Boston is getting hot and heavy again? Clearly an attempt to poke crazy Hank into a fury.
I understand that you have to give up something good to get something good, but this whole Santana thing worries me! I would love to see him with the Mets, but at what costs? If it happens then I sure don’t want Pelfrey included in the mix. He is only 23/24 and has been pushed very quick into the majors, (since he was 21) Where was Johan when he was 21/22/23? Coming out of the pen without much success, and then went 8-6 when he was 23.
Something else to thing about…Who plays OF?
Green is gone. Milledge is gone. (Or has I refer to him the Albert Belle in training) If Gomez gets traded, then uh oh. Let’s face it, Moises will be rested and spend time on the DL. Who’s left? Beltran of course, but then Endy and Ryan Church. Wow? I’m not sold on Church. .270 hitter with minimal power and no speed. Has been in pro ball since 2000 and just hasn’t impressed anybody.
Really wish the Mets would have gone after Joe Blanton. Very impressive young pitcher, who appears to be healthy and have what it takes. Would not cost as many players or as much money either! No he is not the premiere #1 that Johan is, but he could be a number 2 or 3 right now.
Oh man am I really excited now. All the buzz really seems to be true and the Mets stand a real good chance to get Santana.
As a typical Mets fan, I’m also nervous that some team will swoop in and take him out of our hands.
Oh Yeah!!!!! DO IT OMAR……………DO IT !
Why doesn’t Omar call the Red Sox and try to make a threeway deal (I love the fact that in baseball, having a threeway is socially acceptable) with the Twins? Maybe we can then give the Twins what they really want and the Red Sox can know they will never see Santana in pinstripes? Discuss amoung yourselves while I get another cup of coffee.
The NY Post has zero credibility, ignore what they say.
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